At the November 13 trial, Mohamed Bakkali makes use of his right to silence
The president of the court Jean-Louis Périès tried to convince Mohamed Bakkali.
In vain.
© AFP/Benoit Peyrucq
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
Mohamed Bakkali, suspected of being one of the logisticians of the attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis on November 13, refused on Wednesday to answer questions from the court.
Advertising
Read more
His interrogation was to last two days and cover the period up to August 2015. He finally came to a halt.
"
I no longer have the strength to fight
," justified
Mohamed Bakkali
.
In a calm voice, the Belgian-Moroccan recounts having played the game during the
Thalys trial
in which he was accused of having conveyed to Belgium the main author of the attack on the train in August 2015, Ayoub El- Khazzani, and his sponsor Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the leader of the November 13 commandos.
He says he explained himself at length and received a sentence which, he who claims to be innocent, did not expect.
Twenty-five years in prison.
“
It broke me
,” he admits.
“My word is always suspect”
His conditions of detention and the ongoing trial also weigh on him.
Especially the five weeks of civil party testimony in October.
"
It finished me
."
Today, Mohamed Bakkali says he is tired and no longer wants to talk.
Anyway, he believes, “
whatever I say, whatever I do, my word is always suspect.
It has no value.
»
“
I know of cases where there have been acquittals after convictions
”, tries the president of the special assize court Jean-Louis Périès.
“
In such serious terrorism cases?
“, resumes the accused.
"
Good...
", murmurs the president, who adds: "
Your silence risks being unfavorable to you
".
But Mohamed Bakkali says he turned the subject around and came to the same conclusion: everything is against him.
►
To read also: Infographic: who are the alleged perpetrators and accomplices of the attacks?
The man will therefore not answer any questions, reports our special correspondent at the Paris courthouse,
Marine de la Moissonnière
.
Silence on his religious beliefs.
Silence on his links with the El Bakraoui brothers, suicide bombers in Brussels and on the hideouts he allegedly rented.
Me Gérard Chemla, civil party lawyer, tries his luck.
“
If the victims upset you, then you are accountable to them.
They have the right to hear what you have done and what you haven't done.
Mohamed Bakkali remains silent.
The court will have to stick to its statements during the investigation.
The previous Krayem
In the same firm voice, as if in echo, his big brother said at the bar that he too, given what happened during the Thalys trial, had the impression that his younger brother was already convicted.
Judged for "complicity in murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise" and "criminal terrorist association", Mohamed Bakkali faces life imprisonment.
He is accused of having helped Salah Abdeslam and the brothers Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, chief logisticians of the November 13 attacks, to prepare the attacks and then to organize the repatriation of certain jihadists to Brussels.
Before him, another defendant, the Swede Osama Krayem, who has refused to attend the hearings since the end of November, had also made use of his right to silence during his interrogation.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
France
Justice
Trial of the attacks of November 13