This Monday, the special assize court heard at length Willy Prévost, in the foreground in this drawing.PR -

Benoit PEYRUCQ / AFP

  • This Monday, the special assize court began questioning the eleven defendants present in the box.

  • Willy Prévost, who grew up in the same neighborhood as Amedy Coulibaly, is suspected of having helped him equip himself, in particular by buying knives or tactical vests.

  • Indicted for "criminal terrorist association", he faces 20 years of criminal imprisonment.

At the special assize court in Paris,

Willy Prévost never sought to deny.

Neither during the investigation, nor this Monday, before the special assize court which judges, until November 10, the attacks of January 2015. Yes, it is he who acquired, on behalf of Amedy Coulibaly , the Renault Scénic that the terrorist used to get to the Hyper Cacher at the Porte de Vincennes, this disastrous January 9, 2015. Yes, he did buy at his request two knives, two tear gas, three tactical vests and a taser.

And yes, it was again he who had the GPS tracker removed from his motorcycle, used during the Montrouge attack against the municipal policewoman, Clarissa Jean-Philippe.

"You recognize the materiality of the facts, what you dispute, on the other hand, is the link with a terrorist enterprise", summarizes the president of the court, Régis de Jorna, before starting his questioning.

In criminal law, intention is a constituent element of the charge, essential for the establishment of guilt.

But are we responsible when we have not sought to know, when we have acted without asking questions, or at least without obtaining answers?

As a repeat offender - his record shows six convictions - Willy Prévost, 34, shaved head, imposing figure, suspected that Amedy Coulibaly intended to commit illegal actions.

He imagined a go fast.

"For me, Amedy, he was a robber or a drug dealer, there was no terrorism thing," he insists.

When he questions him about this material, the latter opposes him to an end of inadmissibility.

"He just told me 'shut up, don't ask questions.'

He does, however, as he always does with Amedy Coulibaly.

“I was a little under his influence, I did him a favor.

"

"We know how it goes when we file a complaint"

Throughout this day devoted to his hearing, the accused described the relationship of domination that linked him to the terrorist.

The two men grew up in the same city but got closer in 2004, in prison.

Amedy Coulibaly would then have taken him under his wing, guaranteeing his safety.

In exchange, when he leaves, he asks him for "services", obviously illegal, which he cannot avoid.

In 2009, however, he refused to participate in a go fast.

His replacement was arrested and, according to him, Amedy Coulibaly held him responsible for this failure, claimed the lost sum and beat him up one evening in the forest with a baseball bat.

Why did he not file a complaint asks the president?

“We know how it goes when we file a complaint in a neighborhood, I have seen families move, they burn cars, destroy apartments.

“At the helm, Willy Prévost's mother, black hair falling over a long beige coat, confirms this climate of terror.

After the beating, his attacker returned to their home, armed, to threaten them.

"Okay, he's violent, but he never told me about terrorism"

For the prosecution, however, Willy Prévost could not ignore the capacity of Amedy Coulibaly "to commit acts in connection with his jihadist ideology".

What the latter firmly denies.

He claims to have ignored everything about his radicalization and never noticed any change in his behavior.

"Okay, he's violent, but he never spoke to me about terrorism, about Merah's actions," says Willy Prévost.

He says he never knew that between 2010 and 2014, Amedy Coulibaly was detained for having taken part in the escape attempt of a notorious jihadist, Smaït Aït Ali Belkacem.

His mother claims, however, at the bar to have learned it from him.

The assessor is also surprised that the terrorist never spoke to him about religion, he who was excluded from the mosque of Evry after having tried to engage young people.

"These people, I hate them"

Different aspects of his story appeal to the court.

Why would Amedy Coulibaly have given him details about a convoy of arms he was organizing - and in which Willy Prévost was unable to participate because of his electronic bracelet - but refused to give him details on what he was planning to make tactical vests?

"Since the start of the trial, there are only" ifs "... You have to be in the real world", he annoys.

Over the course of the interrogation, Willy Prévost loses his calm, especially when the lawyers for the civil parties question him about a possible conversion, in reference to the testimony of a woman to whom he would have made a remark about his outfit.

He firmly denies.

"Don't try to put a terrorist label on me," he loses his temper in the box.

These people, I hate them, they're fat sons of bitches.

For five and a half years, I have struggled with this label in prison.

He faces 20 years of criminal imprisonment.

Justice

January 2015 attacks: at trial, past intelligence loopholes and knife attack collide

Justice

January 2015 attacks: The appalling hand-to-hand combat of a municipal agent in an attempt to disarm Amédy Coulibaly

  • Justice

  • Paris

  • Trial

  • Terrorism

  • Trial of the January attacks