In the trial surrounding the attack in Nice, which was probably motivated by Islamism and claimed 86 lives, one of the terrorist suspects denied any connection to the crime in his final statement. “I have nothing to do with what happened,” the accused said on Monday at the Paris Palace of Justice. “I’m not a terrorist.”
The second man, whom the public prosecutor’s office accused of membership in a terrorist organization in their closing arguments, did not comment on Monday. According to the indictment, both men had close contact with the assassin. They are said to have known about his attitude and that he was capable of committing an attack.
Truck crashed into crowd in July 2016
On July 14, 2016, the French national holiday, the Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a heavy truck into a crowd on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. He also shot people. There were 86 fatalities, including two students and a teacher from Berlin. More than 200 people were injured. The perpetrator was shot dead after the crime.
The terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the crime. The investigators found evidence of the perpetrator’s Islamist radicalization, but no direct connection to IS.
The defendant, who got the gun the gunman used in the attack, said in his closing statement that he had not thought about it. The other five defendants, who were involved in obtaining a weapon, largely apologized for their offenses in their closing remarks.
After the defendants had spoken in closing, the court withdrew to deliberations. The verdict in the case is expected to be announced on Tuesday afternoon.
