November 13 trial: Covid-19 interrupts hearings for at least a week
The trial, which began on September 8, 2021, should end in mid-June, barring any further setbacks.
AFP - ALAIN JOCARD
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
At the trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015, the 81st day of hearing before the special assize court of Paris was mainly used to record the postponement of the hearings.
This time, two new defendants were infected.
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In normal times, the organization of such a trial would already be a challenge.
Fourteen defendants present, hundreds of civil parties, a sprawling investigation that extends from Paris to Raqqa, via Brussels, Athens or Gaziantep.
Witnesses and investigators to be heard from Belgium, Morocco or Tunisia.
And now the coronavirus epidemic is forcing a new postponement.
After Salah Abdeslam and Ali El Haddad Asufi, two new defendants tested positive for Covid-19.
In this case, Mohamed Amri and Adel Haddadi.
“
This virus seems to want to attach itself to us
”, notes, fatalistic, the president of the special assize court Jean-Louis Périès who had just reorganized his calendar.
He confirms that the hearings are shifted by at least a week.
“
If I was a defense lawyer, I would tell you that it is very annoying for these people who are in the box.
Indeed, it will drag out a year in difficult conditions,
regrets Maître Antoine Casubolo, lawyer for civil parties.
Our clients, they want to finally have a judgment, that we know what happened, that the penalties fall.
Justice will pass, regardless of the chaotic course of the hearings.
»
It is already recorded that the trial which opened on September 8 should extend beyond seven months.
Unless there is another unpleasant surprise, the deliberation is scheduled for mid-June.
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Justice
France
Trial of the attacks of November 13