An assault rifle and extensive arsenal have been discovered in a hidden cellar linked to William Malet, the suspect in the 2022 triple homicide of Kurds in Paris. This discovery raises questions about potential accomplices in the attack on 23 December 2022 and reignites calls for a terrorism investigation.

William Malet, 71, a retired railway employee, has been under investigation since the brutal killings of Emine Kara (Evîn), a leading figure of the Kurdish women’s rights movement, musician Mîr Perwer (Mehmet Şirin Aydın) and political activist Abdurrahman Kızıl.

On 17 May, police revealed that they had found a Swiss SIG STG 57 assault rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, knives, a bulletproof vest, and a gunsight in a cellar beneath an apartment on Rue Bachaumont, Paris II. This cache was discovered based on Malet’s directions and had not been previously known to investigators.

Malet’s latest interrogation on 27 March included his admission of planning an attack in Saint-Denis before targeting the Kurdish community on Rue d’Enghien. He claimed to have abandoned his initial plan due to technical issues with the rifle. “The rifle was dismantled, the stock was detached, and it jammed when I tried to reassemble it,” he explained.

The discovery of this hidden arsenal has heightened suspicions of complicity. David Andic, a lawyer for the French Democratic Kurdish Council (CDK-F) acting on behalf of the victims, highlighted the inconsistencies in Malet’s statements. “We believe Malet is hiding the truth, offering only evolving versions of events. We demand a thorough investigation into his past,” he stated.

This recent development follows a press conference on 2 March, in which spokespeople for the CDK-F and their lawyers publicly rejected the argument of the French authorities that the attack was based solely on a “racist motive”, and demanded a detailed investigation into the possible involvement of external influences.

Berivan Polat of CDK-F commented on Malet’s mental stability, asserting, “He is mentally healthy,” adding, “However, I am asking who commissioned him to carry out this massacre.” Lawyer Christian Charrière-Bournazel pointed to the Turkish state’s hostility towards Kurds and asked whether Turkish intelligence could have directed Malet, citing the need to examine his digital devices.

Lawyer David Andic had previously noted that Malet’s self-description of having a “pathological hatred” added to the suspicion that he might have received external advice. The victims’ representatives continue to push for the reclassification of the murders as acts of terrorism. Malet’s lawyer declined to comment.

Three people were killed and three others wounded in the attack at the Ahmet Kaya Kurdish Cultural Centre in Paris on 23 December 2022, echoing a similar attack nearly a decade earlier on a Kurdish information centre, which was also in Paris, and which also claimed three victims.