파리 테러 현장에서 발견된 여권과 지문을 분석한 결과 용의자 중 2명이 그리스에서 난민 등록 후 프랑 스로 입국한 것으로 확인됐다고 AFP통신 등이 14일(현지시간) 보도했다.
프랑스 당국은 현장에서 시리아인 여권과 지문 2건을 수거해 그리스 정부와 함 께 신원 확인 작업을 벌였다.
그리스의 니코스 토스카스 시민보호부 장관은 공식 성명에서 "테러 현장에서 발 견된 여권 소지자가 지난달 3일 69명의 난민과 함께 그리스 레로스 섬에 들어왔다" 며 "그는 유럽연합(EU) 규정에 따라 신원이 확인됐다"고 말했다.
토스카스 장관은 또 "여권 소지자가 거쳐 갔을 것으로 추정되는 다른 국가들이 이 여권을 점검했는지는 모른다"고 덧붙였다.
프랑스 경찰은 공연장 바타클랑 극장의 테러 용의자 시신 근처에서 여권을 발견 했다고 말했다. 파리 11구 볼테르 가에 있는 바타클랑 극장에서는 89명이 목숨을 잃 어 연쇄 테러가 난 6곳 가운데 피해가 가장 컸다.
경찰이 극장에 진입했을 때 용의자 3명은 폭탄 벨트를 터뜨려 자살했으며, 나머 지 1명은 경찰에 사살됐다.
다만, 난민들이 유럽으로 오려고 시리아 여권을 위조하는 사례가 많아 여권의 진위는 조사 중이다.
AFP통신은 그리스 경찰 소식통을 인용해 다른 용의자도 올해 8월 그리스에서 난 민 등록을 마치고 레로스 섬을 거쳐 간 것으로 지문 확인 결과 밝혀졌다고 전했다.
로이터통신도 그리스 정부가 2명의 용의자가 그리스를 통해 유럽으로 들어왔다 고 밝혔다고 보도했다.
올해 들어 그리스를 거쳐 유럽에 입국하는 시리아 등 중동 난민이 급증한 가운 데 그리스를 비롯한 유럽 당국자들은 터키에서 넘어오는 난민들 중 '이슬람국가'(IS) 등 지하디스트들이 위장해 잠입했을 가능성이 있다고 경고해왔다. (연합)
<관련 영문 기사>
At least one man linked to Paris attacks registered as refugee in Greece: police
Greek police on Saturday said at least one man with a possible connection to the Paris attacks had registered as a refugee with Greek authorities earlier this year.
French authorities had asked their Greek counterparts to check the fingerprints of one man who died in the attacks, with a Syrian passport found next to him, in addition to the fingerprints of another man.
There were efforts to establish whether both had registered in Greece, the main entry point into Europe for Syrian refugees.
The Greek minister for citizen protection, Nikos Toskas, said one of the men had been registered on the Greek island of Leros in October.
“We confirm that the (Syrian) passport holder came through the Greek island of Leros on October 3 where he was registered under EU rules,” he said a statement.
French police said the passport was found “near the body of one of the attackers” during the investigation into the main site of Friday’s carnage, at the Bataclan concert hall where 89 people were killed.
The authenticity of the passport was being checked, but its discovery indicates a possible Syrian connection in Friday night’s violence, which also saw three suicide blasts outside the Stade de France and gun attacks on restaurants and cafes in Paris.
Greek police are not ruling out that the Syrian passport changed hands before the attacks.
Separately, a Greek police source said they had not yet matched the second person to refugee application records.
This contradicted earlier information from a Greek police source who said the second man had also registered in Greece, with TV station Mega adding this was also on Leros in August.
European security officials have long feared that jihadists could take advantage of the mass migration influx, mainly from war-torn Syria, that Europe has been experiencing since the beginning of the year.
“It is clear now that together with the victims of Islamo-fascism in the Middle East that come as refugees, extreme elements are crossing to Europe,”
Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said after an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Greece’s junior minister for migration Yiannis Mouzalas admitted in September that it would be “foolish” to completely discount the possibility of jihadists sneaking into Europe among the refugee wave.
Over 800,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe this year, with over 3,400 dying in the process.
Tsipras on Saturday insisted that the refugees fleeing Syria “are hunted by the same terrorists” that struck in Paris on Friday.
“We must find solutions to the drama of the people who leave their homes, hunted by the same terrorists, and drown in the Mediterranean,” Tsipras said in a televised address. (AFP)
