French Teacher Suspended for Calling Merah a 'Victim'

France's minister of education demanded and got the "immediate suspension" of a teacher at a high school in the north of France who called for a moment of silence for killer Mohamed Merah, reports AFP. The 56-year-old English teacher described Merah as being the "victim of an unhappy childhood" and claimed his links to al-Qaeda were fabricated by the media, prompting about 15 students to storm out of the class and report her to the school administration. A spokesman for the school described what happened as a "sad incident" and said a disciplinary review was under way, notes the Daily Mail. (More France stories.)