Trial of the 2015 attacks: the unbearable images of the Charlie Hebdo killing
The Paris court, September 2, 2020, for the opening of the trial of the 2015 attacks in France.
Thomas COEX / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
In France, the second week of the trial of the January 2015 attacks began on September 7.
The court focused on the attack on Charlie Hebdo by Saïd and Chérif Kouachi until the assassination of police officer Ahmed Merabet.
The commissioner in charge of the investigation detailed the murderous journey of the two brothers, relying in particular on videos and a panoramic photo allowing to visualize in three dimensions the drafting, just after the massacre.
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With our special correspondent at the Paris Court of Justice,
Laura Martel
The investigator had warned: the bodies of the victims are visible in the images.
Some civil parties then preferred to leave the room, others to snuggle up against each other.
A leaden silence reigned in the room.
The panorama projected on the big screen plunged the audience into the heart of the newspaper's premises and into horror.
From the entrance hall, we see a pool of blood under a chair, that of webmaster Simon Fieschi, seriously injured.
Blood, again, in the newsroom, where most of the victims lie, bodies intertwined.
A little away, that of Charb.
The director of publication was the object of a particular relentlessness.
Seven bullets hit him, including three in the head, says the commissioner, who details the facts and injuries of the victims, almost in a low voice.
Then comes this video surveillance of the arrival of terrorists, calm, determined.
After targeting Simon Fieschi, Chérif Kouachi disappears.
Saïd remains on the lookout.
One minute and 49 seconds is the time both short and interminable during which only thick smoke betrays the ongoing slaughter.
Then Cherif Kouachi reappears, his fist raised.
This video was silent.
Not the next one.
This time, Kalashnikov's shots slam.
The room is startled, then we can make out the words of policeman Ahmed Merabet who, injured, pleads for his life before being shot.
When the screen goes out, a sort of breath is heard, as if the room, in apnea, collectively resumed breathing.
From September 8, the court will hear survivors and relatives of victims.
A word all the more crucial after the shock of the images broadcast, believes Me Caty Richard, lawyer for the son of Bernard Maris.
I am relieved that Raphael, Bernard's son, did not have to see these images.
The civil parties will come and talk about everything that is not barbarism but those who have been the target of this barbarism.
Trial of the 2015 attacks in France: Me Caty Richard, lawyer for Bernard Maris' son
RFI
► To read also: Attack of January 2015: first three days of trial marked by emotion
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