The large light wood room which has been hosting the trial of the July 14, 2016 attack in Nice since the beginning of September was filled for the last time on Tuesday, December 13. The benches of the civil parties, like those reserved for the press, were crowded as rarely since the opening of the debates. After three months of hearings, the specially composed Assize Court of Paris delivered its verdict. A severe verdict, beyond the requisitions of the public prosecutor, which surprised many observers.
In the absence of the terrorist, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, shot at the wheel of his truck after killing 86 people on the Promenade des Anglais, eight defendants were tried, including three for terrorist criminal association. The court, chaired by Laurent Raviot, confirmed this terrorist qualification for two of them, Mohamed Ghraieb and Chokri Chafroud, sentenced to eighteen years’ imprisonment. Their lawyers, who had pleaded acquittal, announced their intention to appeal.
At the announcement of these sentences, more severe than the fifteen years in prison required by the prosecution, some civil parties rose from their benches, fists clenched and arms stretched towards the sky, soon accompanied by a round of applause . “No demonstrations, please., we are in a courtroomhad to remind the president. Justice needs serenity, it does not need to be applauded, nor to be vilified. »
“Shadow areas”
The third defendant tried for terrorist criminal association, Ramzi Arefa, a small trafficker who had provided a gun to the terrorist, was sentenced to twelve years in prison (the prosecution had requested fifteen) for a misdemeanor offense. The court followed the logic of the public prosecutor, who had asked not to condemn him for acts of terrorism. The five other defendants, involved in the supply of the weapon and tried for simple offenses of common right, were condemned to sorrows ranging between two and eight years of prison.
As soon as the verdict was announced, several observers of this trial – journalists, researchers, lawyers and even some civil party lawyers – shared their astonishment. Rare are those who had anticipated sentences going beyond the requisitions against Mohamed Ghraieb and Chokri Chafroud, so much this trial, marked by the very disturbed personality of Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, was confusing and difficult to read from end to end. at the end.
In a short summary of the factors that motivated the court’s decision, President Raviot himself acknowledged that “shadow areas” persisted at the end of the debates: “Neither the judicial information nor the hearing made it possible to shed light on all the gray areas of the file, many essential elements which could be interpreted in one direction or the other, or even be opposed to each other. others. Howeverhe continued, the court has the intimate conviction that Mohamed Ghraieb and Chokri Chafroud were associated with Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel in the realization of his project, by inspiring him, by supporting him morally and materially. »
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