President Nicolas Sarkozy and families of the victims urged television networks on Tuesday not to broadcast graphic videos shot by an Islamist extremist killer during his shooting spree in France.
Qatar-based Al-Jazeera said it was considering broadcasting the videos — which include footage shot by Mohamed Merah during his attacks that left seven people dead — after they were sent to its Paris bureau on a USB memory key.
French officials also reacted with fury to threats from Merah’s father to sue over his killing in a gunbattle with police last Thursday at the end of a 32-hour siege of his apartment in Toulouse.
And police said they believed the al-Qaeda inspired gunman, branded a “monster” in France, may have had one or more accomplices who sent the footage to Al-Jazeera.
Published 27 March 2012, 20:20 IST