Algeria: the assassin of the French Hervé Gourdel sentenced to death
Hervé Gourdel, this high mountain guide from Nice, was kidnapped and murdered in September 2014 in Algeria.
REUTERS / Patrice Massante
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Abdelmalek Hamzaoui was sentenced to death this Thursday, February 18 by the court of Dar El Beïda for the assassination of Frenchman Hervé Gourdel in 2014. He was the only defendant present on the scene.
His lawyers had however pleaded acquittal.
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Abdelmalek Hamzaoui had denied before the judges his participation in
the assassination of Hervé Gourdel
, kidnapped and then beheaded in 2014 in the Tizi Ouzou region by a jihadist group claiming to be Islamic State.
He explained that he was forced by a relative to join the maquis occupied by the jihadist group.
His explanations did not convince the jurors who followed the prosecutor's requisitions with this death sentence.
The civil party lawyers have, in their eyes, succeeded in proving that Hamzaoui did appear on the video claiming the kidnapping.
And the testimonies of Hervé Gourdel's guides overwhelmed the accused.
Present during the events, several witnesses confirmed at the bar his presence, weapons in hand, when the jihadists were taking the French high mountain guide to his death.
These witnesses were also prosecuted for having delayed giving the alert after the kidnapping of the Frenchman, but they were released by the court.
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Algeria
Justice
Terrorism