November 13 trial: the "contradictions" of Adel Haddadi and Muhammad Usman
Lawyers and participants arrive at the special courtroom on September 8, 2021, at the opening of the trial for the November 13 attacks in Paris.
© Thibault Camus / AP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
At the trial of the November 13 attacks, the court over the last two days heard French and Austrian investigators reconsider the path of Pakistani Muhammad Usman and Algerian Adel Haddadi.
The two men, who admitted to having been commissioned to take part in the attacks in France, were prevented from doing so by their arrest during their attempt to reach Belgium via the route taken at the time by thousands of Syrian migrants.
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With
Laura Martel,
from the France service of RFI
Gray areas persist on the profile of Muhammad Usman even before his departure for Syria, points out the investigator. He claims to have cultivated the family lands in Punjab, but according to Pakistani intelligence, the man would have disappeared for ten years to join the Taliban. He would also have played a role of fireworks for a group close to al-Qaeda.
In another contradiction, Muhammad Usman claims to have joined Syria in August 2015 and maintains that he “did not
participate in any training or combat
”.
But this version is undermined by a video of the capture of the Iraqi city of Ramadi by IS in May 2015. We see the accused "
twice
" with "
a gun in his back
", underlines the investigator.
The latter considers "
not very credible
" that the IS has assigned "
someone who has never fought
" for "
a project of attack of such magnitude
".
Stopped in Greece
This analysis also applies to Adel Haddadi. The Algerian indeed claims to have had only the functions of "
cook
" before being introduced to his future traveling companion in an apartment in Raqqa, where the two Iraqis were also found who will be blown up at the Stade de France. It was there that Osama Atar, head of IS's external operations, commissioned them for a "
kamikaze in France
" action, admitted Adel Haddadi in hearing. The Iraqis will manage to rally Paris, but not the Haddadi-Usman duo.
Stopped in October 2015 in Greece when the authorities detect their false Syrian passports, the two men will not participate in the attacks of November 13.
Remained in contact with Atar, they would not, however, have given up their mission, but will finally be arrested in Austria on December 10.
►Also listen: Witnesses of news - Trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015: how to best tell?
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France
Justice
al-Qaeda
Trial of the November 13 attacks
Terrorism
Taliban
Pakistan
Algeria
Syria
Iraq
EI