Applause rang out in the courtroom when the presiding judge announced 18 years in prison for one of the accused in the trial of the terrorist attack in Nice, which was probably motivated by Islamism and killed 86 people.
The court in Paris has convicted him of membership in a terrorist organization, as well as another of the eight accused who are considered to be henchmen and supporters. Both would have supported and inspired the assassin morally and materially.
In the attack six and a half years ago, the Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a heavy truck into a crowd on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. He also shot people. Ultimately, there were 86 fatalities, including two students and a teacher from Berlin. More than 200 people were injured in the attack on July 14, 2016, the French national holiday. The perpetrator was shot dead after the crime.
Involved in the search for a weapon
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the two defendants, who were sentenced to 18 years in prison, knew about the attitude of the man and that he was capable of committing an attack. They are said to have been involved in the search for a weapon.
The court also sentenced the man who had provided the gun used in the attack to the gunman to 12 years in prison. The other five accused in the process, who were also involved in the procurement of the pistol or another weapon according to the verdict, are said to be in prison for between two and eight years. The defendants can still appeal the court’s decision.
Penalties go beyond what the prosecutor demands
It is possible that some of the bereaved and survivors had hoped for even higher penalties. But the public prosecutor’s office had already made it clear that none of the eight suspects could be convicted as if he were the assassin. The penalties imposed by the court for membership in a terrorist organization now even exceeded what the public prosecutor’s office had demanded.
For lawyer Alexandra de Brossin de Méré, who represents the mother of one of the killed Berlin schoolgirls and the teacher in the proceedings, it is an overall judgment that one can live with, as she told the German Press Agency. “For the civil parties and the families of the victims, this is a nice signal that the judiciary has dealt with it with so much seriousness and has done what it could in such a difficult situation.”
attack also a national trauma
The special court in Paris had been examining the Nice attack since September. Even if the assassin who was shot was not in court himself, the trial dealt in detail with his attack plans and his attitude. Presiding judge Laurent Raviot said the perpetrator chose his actions to spread terror. He struck at a place that was always full and at a festival that celebrated the republic and its values. The attack was also a national trauma.
More than 2000 relatives and victims acted as joint plaintiffs. For several weeks, they reported in court about their memories of the attack and the traces that the act of terrorism left on them. The mother of one of the Berlin schoolgirls who was killed also spoke in tears in court. De Brossin de Méré said that her client was very good.
“I just want to say: Don’t forget us!”
The fact that the public prosecutor’s office admitted to official errors and apologized for them may have exceeded the expectations of many survivors and those left behind. The verdict now marks an important step for them. Nevertheless, numerous victims hope that the legal work-up is not over. Because the question of security precautions in Nice was only marginally dealt with in the Paris proceedings. Investigations are still ongoing in the Mediterranean city, and numerous victims are hoping for a second trial.
And worries also accompany the end of the process for some. Lucie Lemaire, 20, told the Liberation newspaper that she feared the general public would remember nothing of the trial, which attracted little interest in France, nor remember the attack. “I just want to say: Don’t forget us!”
