Model student cleared of Charlie Hebdo attack involvement arrested for reportedly joining Isis

A student cleared of being the getaway driver in the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris was arrested accused of trying to join Isis in Syria. Mourad Hamyd, 20, was arrested in Turkey on 28 July, and is accused of attempting to join Isis in Syria.

The student is the brother-in-law of Cherif Kouachi, one of the two Islamic extremists responsible for the attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris in January, 2015, in which 12 people were killed.

Hamyd was unarmed when arrested, but was carrying military clothing, gloves and sturdy shoes in his luggage. Investigators are searching his mobile phone and computer for evidence of his intentions, French intelligence sources told Journal du Dimanche. He was deported to Bulgaria after his arrest.

"He had behavior typical for a foreign fighter and that's how was identified," Bulgarian Interior Minister Rumiana Bachvarova told BTV television.

He surrendered to police at his home in Charleville-Mézières in eastern France after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and was questioned for two days. Police suspected he acted as a getaway driver for the two attackers, Cherif and his brother, Said Kouachi, who died in the incident. Following a social media campaign and after classmates provided an alibi, he was released without charge.

A model student who passed his baccalauréat exams five months later, in interviews after his release he described the attacks as "barbaric crimes," and expressed his hope that his link to one of the perpetrators would not affect his future.

He completed his first year at university studying for a science degree, but was reported missing by his family on 25 July. Despite being of a terrorism watch list, he was able to travel from France. According to French media reports, he is in custody in Bulgaria.

Anti-terrorism prosecutors in Paris have opened a judicial investigation in order to issue a European arrest warrant for him, reported Journal de Dimanche.