At the end of a week marked by the poignant testimonies of the victims, the defendants of the Charlie Hebdo trial praised, Friday September 11, the "courage" and the "dignity" of the survivors of the killing, eliciting contrasting reactions from the civil parties .
Invited to react to the terrible stories heard since Monday before the special assize court in Paris, Saïd Makhlouf, like all of his co-defendants, wants to be unequivocal: "I wanted to tell the families of the victims that they are very courageous ", he assures us.
The thirty-something, corpulent silhouette and hair gathered in a mini-ponytail, indicates to have been "really touched" by these multiple testimonies.
"I can only sympathize with their suffering," he explains from the glass box where some of the defendants rub shoulders.
A "carnage" told at the bar
Fourteen people in total are tried before the Assize Court for their logistical support to Chérif and Saïd Kouachi, as well as to Amedy Coulibaly, perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo, Montrouge and Hyper Cacher attacks.
Among them, three are judged by default.
These attacks, carried out in a coordinated manner on January 7, 8 and 9, 2015, had killed 17 people, including 10 in the premises of Charlie Hebdo.
A "carnage" told at the helm by several survivors of the weekly, including the designer Coco, in sometimes unbearable terms.
Like several other defendants heard at the bar, Willy Prévost condemns the 2015 attacks, claiming to be foreign to jihadist ideology.
"I spit on these people, on the Kouachi brothers that I don't even know, on Amedy Coulibaly that I thought I knew," he blurted out.
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"I am a Muslim and I do not understand why we kill in the name of God, in the name of the prophet, I do not understand ... We do not kill because we have made a drawing", adds Metin Karasular, addressing his "condolences" to the families of the victims.
Sincere emotion or feigned compassion, as part of a well-established defense strategy?
On the bench of civil parties, Me Marie-Laure Barré, lawyer for relatives of victims, does not hide her annoyance.
"I am very uncomfortable with what I just heard," she says.
"I can understand that the accused want to distance themselves from the extremely serious facts and images" projected during the hearing.
But "when we provide equipment, when we sell weapons and Kalashnikovs, it is not for playing golf!", She adds.
"We never have a break from our grief"
On the defense side, everyone is protesting.
"Some civil parties want to withdraw the freedom of speech to the accused," said Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, counsel for Ali Riza Polat, only of the 11 accused present at the hearing to be prosecuted for "complicity" in terrorist crimes.
Often aggressive since the start of the trial, the latter said he was previously "sorry" for his "behavior".
"I get carried away quickly" but "I have nothing to do with it. I dissociate myself from what they did the three", he assures, addressing the victims.
These exchanges came to conclude a new day of tributes to the missing, including the cartoonist Bernard Verlhac, alias Tignous, and the economist and columnist Bernard Maris who published in Charlie under the nickname of "Uncle Bernard".
"We never have a break from our grief. Because we miss it in the morning, in the evening, at birthdays, at parties, at the start of the school year", testified the widow of Tignous, Chloé Verlhac, saying nevertheless wanting "resist" to "fear".
With AFP
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