Opening in Algiers of the Gourdel trial, the French beheaded in 2014

The trial of those accused of the assassination of Frenchman Hervé Gourdel, a high mountain guide kidnapped and beheaded by jihadists in Algeria in 2014, opened Thursday morning in Algiers, six years after the incident.

After a postponement at the beginning of the month, the trial is taking place before the court of first instance of Dar El Beïda, in the suburbs of Algiers, in the presence of the victim's family, in particular his companion.

It should last a day.

A hearing already postponed

Arrived by ambulance, the main accused, Abdelmalek Hamzaoui, an alleged kidnapper, follows the hearing in a wheelchair.

He is accompanied by a medical team and supervised by members of the special forces of the gendarmerie.

Initially scheduled for February 4, the hearing was postponed for two weeks, at the request of the defense, due to Mr. Hamzaoui's state of health.

Coming from France, the companion of Hervé Gourdel, Françoise Grandclaude, was then said to be "very disappointed" but intending to respect the decision of the Algerian justice.

A total of 14 people are being prosecuted in this case: eight suspected jihadists on trial for his kidnapping and beheading and six others for not denouncing a crime, according to a court document.

Abdelmalek Hamzaoui is the only one among the alleged kidnappers to appear on Thursday.

The other seven will be tried in absentia.

Captured after the tragedy, the alleged member of Jund al-Khilafa ("The Soldiers of the Caliphate"), the group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) organization that claimed responsibility for the assassination, risks the death penalty.

Among the accused, the guides of Hervé Gourdel

Among the six defendants tried for non-denunciation of a crime are the five Algerian companions of Hervé Gourdel before the Algerian court on Thursday: Karim Oukara, Hamza Boukamoum, Oussama Dehendi, Amine Ayache and Kamel Saâdi, kidnapped with him but released after 14 hours.

They are accused of having delayed informing the authorities of the kidnapping of the Frenchman.

Failure to report crimes is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The sixth, a certain Farjallah Amara, is also accused of not having warned the same authorities in time because the kidnappers had stolen his car to transport the Frenchman, according to the court document. 

Shock in France and Algeria

Originally from Nice, Hervé Gourdel, 55, was a teacher and trainer of mountain guides, passionate about adventure.

He had gone to Algeria at the invitation of his hosts and guides, to explore a new climbing site, but he was kidnapped on September 21.

The video of his beheading, broadcast three days later, caused a huge shock in France and Algeria.

The Algerian authorities, remained silent on this trial, had assured in 2016 that they had almost completely eliminated the fighters of Jund al-Khilafa.

"We place in the Algerian justice, which is sovereign, a lot of hope for justice to be done after several years of investigation," Ms. Grandclaude told AFP in early February.

After his kidnapping on September 21, Jund al-Khilafa threatened to execute him if France did not give up its strikes against ISIS in Iraq.

The video of his beheading, broadcast a few days later, caused a huge shock in France and Algeria.

The Algerian army, which mobilized around 3,000 soldiers, found his remains on January 15, 2015, around 20 km from the place of his abduction.