January 2015 attack: first three days of trial marked by emotion

Lawyers during the first day of the trial of the January 2015 attacks, September 2, 2020. REUTERS / Charles Platiau

Text by: Laura Martel

5 mins

In the trial of the January 2015 attacks, this second week of trial is devoted to the attack on Charlie Hebdo.

Relatives of victims and survivors will testify.

Before that, the first three days had already been marked by emotion.

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As soon as you arrive in the room on the first day, there is first this moment between the

team

survivors, relatives of victims, colleagues.

Riss, Sigolène Vinson, Simon Fieschi, Patrick Pelloux, among others, embrace each other for a long time, speak in each other's ears, their eyes ready to overflow.

The emotion, we feel, is intense, but quickly interrupted by the mechanics of the start of the trial: the tedious call of hundreds of civil parties, witnesses and experts, the hubbub of dozens of lawyers, the hazardous connections between rooms hearing and retransmission.

Silence in the room

And then at the beginning of the afternoon, silence falls like a screed of lead, when the president begins his reading of the elements to charge and excuse by the chronology of the attacks.

A silence impregnated with pain, we hear some civil parties breathing noisily, others leaving the room.

And then there's this sob that breaks out.

The president was unfortunately mistaken on the first name of Charb.

His mother bursts into tears and shouts: "

", before leaving the room.

The victims and relatives who manage to stay end the day emptied, like the printer of Dammartin-en-Goele Michel Catino who confides that, simply, "

".

►Also read: The challenges of the trial of the January 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris

Confrontation of emotions

But the emotion is not only on the side of the civil parties.

The second and third days, we pass to the examination of the personalities of the accused.

The 11 men talk about their journey.

Despite their diverse profiles, from 30 to 68 years old, they are all common law delinquents, with more or less heavy records.

What they do not deny, but on the other hand, all hammer it: they are not terrorists.

And they express their anger, their frustration, their very despair, at being labeled as such.

Miguel Martinez, 38, speaks of "

" and "

".

But even if each in their own way, the 11 accused all have a word for the victims, we feel that their words are quite simply inaudible to many civil parties.

The denials, the expressed compassion do not pass.

The words “

”, “

”, “

” come up in the mouths of certain civil party lawyers.

Moreover, this confrontation of emotions has permeated the discussions between lawyers from day one.

Often lively exchanges in which, on the victims' side, the anxiety that this trial does not meet the thirst for truth and justice, and on the defense side, the fear that the accused will be condemned even before being tried.

Technical and organizational problems

These first three days were also marked by problems "

" far from being trivial, because they could have repercussions on the substance.

Starting with the question of masks, first announced mandatory even in the event of speaking.

But "

" pleaded the defense on the first day.

Health rules against right of defense, after 24 hours of controversy, the judicial hierarchy has ruled.

Finally, the mask can be removed to speak.

This controversy has somewhat hidden another, linked to the organization of the trial.

While the hearings are filmed for the story, and the technical installation is therefore supposed to be in place, the lawyers and civil parties installed in the three broadcast rooms often hear nothing.

The result: hearing interruptions every day.

But for Me Antoine Comte, lawyer for several victims of

these interruptions are secondary.

The problem, according to him, is that to hope for moments of truth in a trial, you have to confront the actors;

however, with parts scattered in several rooms, behind screens, "

", he says.

Extended hearings and delays

Finally, these three days, the hearings lasted beyond 8 p.m.

For the defense, this still constitutes a violation of the rights of the accused.

Some arrive at midnight in cells and have less than 5 hours to eat, wash and sleep before returning to court.

An untenable pace for two months, explain their lawyers, especially since their hearings on the merits will not begin before the sixth week.

These are all points on which the civil parties are also vigilant, if only to prevent the defendants from having any grounds for appeal.

Despite this sustained pace, the hearings have already fallen behind: this Monday, the court will therefore begin with the examination of the personality of Medhi and Mohamed Belhoucine, accused on the run, before hearing the police officers who investigated the attack. against Charlie Hebdo.

►Also listen: Grand report - "Charlie Hebdo": return on three days of attacks in Paris

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• Terrorism

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