- Tyler Vilus is the first French accused of murder committed in Syria to appear before the special assize court. He is also suspected of having led a group of combatants there.
- Arrested in July 2015 in Turkey while traveling with the passport of a Swede, this thirties from Troyes denied throughout the course of the investigation any attempt to attack on European soil.
- Without specifying potential targets or a finely defined project, Tyler Vilus delivered this Wednesday, after five hours of dense interrogation, a new story described as "confession" by the Advocate General.
"In my head, inevitably, I will die". In the light of summer 2015, when Tyler Vilus undertakes to leave Syria and Daesh after two years of involvement in the ranks of the terrorist organization, the jihadist feels very lonely. His mother, with whom he had a quasi-fusional relationship, was arrested after numerous round trips made between France and the Caliphate and placed in detention. His friends, he said, those "of his generation" who arrived like him in 2012 in the Iraqi-Syrian zone, were all killed or injured. In "dissonance" with the Islamic State, man no longer feels "out of place".
During the five years of education, his version will remain the same: if he left Syria without a woman or a child, it was to “get under the skin” with the aim of then going to Mauritania to exercise freely his faith. A justification that never convinced the prosecution, convinced that the man was going to Europe to commit an attack. This Wednesday, after five hours of dense questioning, Tyler Vilus delivered a new story described as "confession" by the Advocate General. Without detailing his attack plan in detail, the 30-year-old conceded for the first time: “I was leaving to die with weapons in hand. "
"No target" but "a drop point"
When Tyler Vilus was arrested in Turkey a few minutes before boarding a flight to Prague, the man had 7,000 euros and the passport of a Swedish national. Questioned by Laurent Raviot, president of the special assize court in charge of judging him, the man immediately recognizes: "It was Islamic State that provided it to me". In court, the accused explains that he moved to Raqqa to meet Abdelhamid Abaaoud - logistician for the November 13 attacks - then in charge of Daesh "external operations". “I told him: I want to go out, do something (…) he asked me if I wanted a team or go there alone. I said it alone, ”he says.
A "free electron" endowed with an "aura" acquired by his experience within the caliphate to which nothing is imposed: "I was not given a target, I did not prepare a video of claim". Evasive despite the president's insistence on a possible project defined before his departure, Tyler Vilus only admits having benefited from ISIS logistical support to leave Syrian territory. On a paper found on him, a series of contacts and a "drop-off point" in France appear. "It was not really going to serve me, I was told: 'If you have a problem, here is a point of fall' (…) even if I was in a rush, I took precautions," continues- he.
A "jihadist journey" stopped dead
One point challenges the magistrate Laurent Raviot. When Tyler Vilus leaves, he admits that he disagrees with the evolution of the Islamic State. A break with the organization that pushes him to leave everything, including his two wives and children. However, the man assures him, his jihadist ideology is then intact: "In my head, inevitably I will die (...) When I leave I know that I will continue jihad, it is a path without return", recognizes -he. Slowly, the president continues: “Mr. Vilus, were you going to carry out an attack? " The accused mumbles then concedes: "Frankly, I can't say yes (...) but I'm not going to kill myself (...) I'm leaving to die with my arms in my hand. Or ? How? 'Or' What ? I dunno. How long ? When I arrived in Prague, I had enough time to think about a project ”.
At one time suspected by the anti-terrorist magistrates of being linked to the cell of the attacks of November 13, 2015, Tyler Vilus had so far always refused to discuss a possible plan of attack. "Confessions", according to the Advocate General who tried to understand why the accused always kept this element. “The meetings were an important moment for me. I have been in detention for 5 years and I have had little opportunity to speak publicly (…) But the change cannot be achieved if I do not say certain things ”, he concluded. Tyler Vilus, tried for criminal terrorist association of criminals, management of a terrorist enterprise and for two murders committed in the area, faces a life sentence.
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- Terrorist attacks in Paris
- Justice
- Syria
- Trial
- Radicalization
- Terrorism
- Daesh