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Two months ago, Lionel Dumont, one of the first French jihadists, was released from prison. One of the main members of the Roubaix gang had been sentenced to twenty-five years in prison in 2007. Like all those convicted of acts of terrorism, he is placed under close surveillance.
He is one of the first French jihadists, a combat veteran. Lionel Dumont, 51, was quietly released in November from prison where he was serving a 25-year sentence. Placed under an electronic bracelet, he returned to settle in the North, where his family is from. In 1994, Lionel Dumont, a former Catholic soldier, converted to Islam, left for Bosnia to fight with the mujahideen. But back in France, he embarked on violent robberies to finance the jihad. He becomes one of the leaders of the Roubaix gang. Their hideout is stormed, but Lionel Dumont escapes. He goes back to Bosnia where he is arrested and tried, but escapes again.
His run ends in 2003. In principle, he was to be released next June, but justice opted for an early release against the advice of the prosecution. It is now up to the intelligence service to monitor him, as explained by Matthieu Suc, journalist at Mediapart, which specifies that “more than 240 detainees sentenced for acts of terrorism have been released in recent years”. Lionel Dumont will have spent nearly twenty years behind bars.