Italy has extradited Olivier Hadzovic, the suspect in the stabbing death of Aboubakar Cisse, to French authorities amidst growing concerns of racial and religious violence. Cisse was killed during prayers at a mosque in La Grand-Combe on April 25. Hadzovic, a French man of Bosnian descent, was on the run for three days before surrendering. Prosecutors are considering the attack as premeditated murder with racial motivations, despite Hadzovic's claim that he acted without ideological intent. The incident has ignited discussions about religious hatred in France, particularly in its Muslim community.
"The suspect in the Grand-Combe case is being transferred today," said Cecile Gensac, the prosecutor for the nearby city of Nimes, where authorities are investigating the stabbing as "murder aggravated by premeditation and on the grounds of race or religion".
Hadzovic admitted to killing Cisse in his first statement to Italian investigators, but according to his lawyer he denied acting from hatred of Islam, saying he had "killed the first person he found" in his path.
Gensac said on May 2 that Hadzovic had been "driven by a fierce desire to kill someone and failing that, to commit suicide".
The case has sparked fierce debate over religious hatred in France, home to the European Union's largest Muslim community.
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