The Algerian perpetrator of Notre Dame attack, staged with a hammer last Tuesday against a policeman in Paris, was the 2009 recipient of a European Union award for his work against discrimination, The Daily Caller reported.
Farid Ikken attacked a policeman with a hammer in the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.
He was subsequently shot by another police officer and then receive treatment in the hospital.
Ikken pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a video found in his studio where he used to live.
The 40-year-old Algerian worked as a freelance journalist in Sweden for several years. His article “Illegal violence” won the EU Commission’s 2009 Journalist Award “For Diversity. Against Discrimination.”
“The article is about asylum seekers who are not entitled to health care and have to obtain it in secrecy, as well as the health care workers who still provide health care to asylum seekers,” the EU Commission wrote in a statement, according to Swedish daily Expressen.
Ikken was honored by the recognition and made commitment to further work for a diverse society against discrimination.
“It feels incredible and above anything else important to win this award,” Ikken said in a press release. “I’m happy that so many important topics, like discrimination and diversity, were recognized at a national level.”
An Algerian news website aims at covering all the country’s territory through providing objective and positive image, focusing the most on breaking news.