Ilan Halimi - The Kidnappers and Their Associates

The Kidnappers and Their Associates

Implicated in the crime are the members of a youth gang calling themselves "les barbares" (the Barbarians). The people so far arrested are mostly unemployed children of immigrants from African countries. In total, 27 individuals were under investigation and were subsequently put on trial. Currently, 19 of those individuals have been convicted and imprisoned. These include:

Youssouf Fofana

Youssouf Fofana (25; b. 2 August 1980), the self-proclaimed "Brain of the Barbarians". He was born in Paris to immigrants from Côte d'Ivoire and served three to four years in prison for various crimes including armed robbery and resisting arrest. In an interview he denied killing Halimi, but showed no sign of remorse for his extreme cynicism.

Christophe Martin-Vallet

Christophe M-V, aka "Moko", a 22-year-old Martinique French man, specializing in computers. He appears to have masterminded the kidnappings and to have been the lieutenant of Fofana. He was monitoring the honeypot activities of the girls.

Sorour Arbabzadeh

Sorour Arbabzadeh aka "Yalda" (or "Emma"), a seventeen-year-old French-Iranian girl who acted as a honeypot to lure Halimi into the gang's lair.

Jean-Christophe Gavarin

Jean-Christophe Gavarin, aka "Zigo", aka "JC" aged 17, one of the individuals who tortured Ilan.

Gilles Serrurier

"The concierge," Gilles Serrurier (39; b. 1967), of the banlieu to which Halimi was taken, who lent his attackers the apartment and cellar in which they tortured and killed him.