Norway arrested on Wednesday one of the suspects in the rue des Rosiers attack which killed six people in Paris in 1982. For the families of the victims, who have been hoping for a trial for nearly forty years, it is a relief, as The lawyer Romain Boulet and Manuel Hezkia, who lost his father in the attack, underline it for Europe 1.
TESTIMONY
More than 38 years after the attack on rue des Rosiers, which left six dead and 22 wounded on August 9, 1982 in Paris, it is finally a beacon of judicial hope for the families of the victims: one of the four suspects, identified and located in Norway, was arrested on Wednesday.
He could soon be extradited to France, a relief for those who have been hoping for nearly forty years for a trial.
>> Find Europe Matin in replay and podcast here
"A real relief and a ray of hope"
"It is a real relief and it is a ray of hope for us, because it is undoubtedly only a first step", wants to believe Me Romain Boulet, one of the lawyers of family of victims.
"It's always positive, it's nice," reacts Manuel Hezkia, who lost his father in the attack.
The man remains cautious, however.
"We had so many disappointed hopes, acceleration and a lot of slowness. Okay, now I tell myself like that is accelerating like that, I tell myself that it is undoubtedly positive."
And although Norway has recently changed its legislation and can now extradite its nationals, the procedure could be lengthy.
"Norway is a democracy, so he will take a lawyer, he will explore all possible and imaginable remedies," predicts Manuel Hezkia.
"Let's hope that justice will waste less time than it has already lost", impatiently on his side Me Boulet.
"Maybe before I die, I'll have at least one or two in front of me"
Because what the relatives of the victims ardently desire is that the suspects be tried.
"What interests us is the holding of this trial and that contradictorily we can discuss what happened on the day of the attack, what happened in the weeks and months that followed. ", explains the lawyer.
Because this is the fear of those close to the victims: to disappear before knowing the truth.
"I defend in particular the sister of an individual who was assassinated during this attack. She is a woman who calls me every week and who says to me 'master, I will probably die before I know who the assassins of my brother '", says Me Bonnet.
"I think maybe before I die, I would have at least one or two in front of me in a court. I could see them, a few meters away," adds Manuel Hezkia.
"That's all I hope for before I die."