Paris - Father Of Slain Jewish Man Defends Police

Paris - The father of a young Jewish man whose brutal killing captured worldwide attention, said the negotiations with his son's kidnappers revealed that anti-Semitism may have played a role in the crime.
The kidnappers "were just too happy to have a little Jew on their hands," Didier Halimi said.

Critics accused police of initially ignoring anti-Semitic motives in the crime, but Halimi said he was in almost daily contact with the kidnappers during most of the more than three weeks of his son's captivity.
When Halimi told them he could not afford the $540,000 ransom, the kidnappers told him to go "ask the Jewish community for the money," he said.
Acting on police recommendations, Halimi eventually cut off contact with the kidnappers. They had "made so many empty threats" to hurt or kill his son that Halimi was "pretty confident" of securing Ilan's release, he said.
Still, Halimi defended the police, who have come under fire from his ex-wife and two daughters, saying that "it's always easy to criticize after the fact," and that officers on the case "worked like crazy."