Four men are on trial from this Monday and for four weeks for the attack in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, July 26, 2016, near Rouen.
They will actually only be three in the box, the last being judged by default, probably dead in Syria.
The three men present are on trial for "terrorist criminal association", a crime punishable by 20 years in prison.
All deny having perceived the inclination to take action by the two terrorists.
As is often the case in terrorism trials, the two assassins will not be in the box.
On July 22, 2016, shortly after 10:30 a.m., Abdel-Malik Petitjean and Adel Kermiche were shot dead by the police on the esplanade of the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, in the suburbs of Rouen.
An hour earlier, they burst into mass and stabbed Father Jacques Hamel, 85, in front of three nuns and an elderly couple.
"It was a sacrifice, the sacrifice of a priest, he was the one he wanted to kill," assured investigators Guy Coponet, one of the two faithful, then 87 years old.
However, a few moments later, Abdel-Malik Petitjean turned against this octogenarian, stabbing him four times, under the eyes of his wife.
Very seriously injured, he feigned death for more than an hour,
Despite the death of the two assailants, four men appear from this Monday and for four weeks before the specially composed assize court.
Theoretically at least, because they will only be three in the box.
The last, Rachid Kassim, the only one to have been returned for complicity, was probably killed in Syria in February 2017 but in the absence of formal evidence, the decision was made to try him in absentia.
The man, whose name is already associated with the assassination of the police couple in Magnanville or the attempted attack in front of Notre-Dame de Paris, is suspected of having "knowingly encouraged and facilitated the passage to the act “by delivering, on the encrypted Telegram network, “operational advice and instructions”.
It was he who received the videos of allegiance, who broadcast the claim of the attack.
"You take a knife, you go to a church, you cause carnage"
The instruction has, in fact, revealed the scenario of a hardly believable improvisation.
Until July 22, 2016, Adel Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Petitjean had never met, or even spoken.
The first is under house arrest with his parents in Saint-Etienne du Rouvray after attempts to leave for Syria, the second lives 700 kilometers away, in Savoie.
But both spend hours on the Internet watching Islamic State videos and skimming propaganda Telegram channels.
Adel Kermiche has also opened his own and does not hide his desires there.
“You take a knife, you go to a church, you cause carnage, even you cut off 2-3 heads, it's good, it's over,” he wrote to his subscribers on July 19.
The next day, Abdel-Malik Petitjean, who spent the summer looking for a firearm, exchanged assiduously with Rachid Kassim.
The latter blows him a list of possible “targets”: synagogue, nightclub, bar … or any other “sheitanery stuff”, he lists.
But the Savoyard tells him that he has trouble acting alone.
It is the meeting of his two candidates for jihad, on Telegram, which will seal their passage to the act, four days later.
“A boom crack badaboum”
What did the accused know of the deadly intentions of Abdel-Malik Petitjean and Adel Kermiche?
Did they provide logistical support to the terrorists?
Tried for "terrorist criminal association", a crime punishable by twenty years of criminal imprisonment, all three have constantly denied, throughout the investigation, to have had the slightest doubt.
“Our fear is that we are trying to judge accomplices, but they are not dismissed for that.
You have to be careful not to make them wear a suit that is too big for them, ”insists Me Simon Clémenceau, who defends Farid Khelil, one of the three accused.
This 36-year-old from Nancy, cousin of Abdel-Malik Petitjean, hosted him for a few days in early July before he joined Adel Kermiche.
The day before the attack, the terrorist told him in a message that he "planned to do something", "a boom crack badaboum", in his words.
In the eyes of the prosecution, he could not ignore the latter's inclinations.
He claims not to have taken seriously this message written in childish terms.
The next day, however, he contacted "Stop jihadism" and then the territorial intelligence services to inform them of his concerns.
And this, while the attack took place several hours earlier.
And what about this message sent to one of his co-defendants after realizing that his cousin was among the attackers: “I need help to avenge my cousin”.
“My client rejects all his accusations, insists his counsel, he is eager to be able to explain himself.
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Round trip to Saint-Etienne du Rouvray
At his side in the box, Jean-Philippe Jean-Louis.
The youngest of the three, 25, but also, according to the investigating magistrates, a "hardliner" and a leading figure in the jihadosphere.
This convert to Islam is not only suspected of being at the head of several Telegram propaganda channels but also of having opened online kitties to finance the attacks, in particular one at the request of Abdel-Malik Petitjean three days before the attack.
Together, the two men would have sought, in June 2016, to join Syria.
If he admitted having emotionally opened this kitty, he never ceased to affirm that he was unaware of the purpose.
“My client never knew anything about this planned attack, perpetrated without his assistance,” assures his lawyer Me Béranger Tourné.
What about Yassine Sebaihia, this Toulouse man now 27 years old, who made a round trip to Saint-Etienne-du Rouvray, less than 48 hours before the attack?
Arrived on the 24th in the evening, he leaves hastily the next day at dawn.
Throughout the investigation, the young man denied having perceived the deadly intentions of the terrorists.
“My client was persuaded to go to an internship to learn religion, insists one of his lawyers Me Katy Mira.
But when he arrived, things didn't go well, we put him to sleep in a park, so he decided to go back.
He admitted, however, that he followed Adel Kermiche's channel, that he had read the messages calling for violent action without taking them seriously.
Similarly, when the terrorist tells him he has a "close-up",
he swears he was sure it was a “big party”.
“None of the messages is a clear call to rally to participate in any violent act,” insists his advice.
spiritual dimension
The civil parties hope above all that this trial will allow them to understand.
The role of each of the accused obviously, the choice to target this priest appreciated by all and who worked for dialogue between the communities, but also the possible dysfunctions of the intelligence services concerning the follow-up of the two terrorists.
"My client is above all in a spiritual dimension of appeasement and serenity, not in that of criminal sanction", insists Me Méhana Mouhou, Guy Coponet's lawyer.
Same story with Father Hamel's sisters, represented by Me Christian Saint-Palais.
“There is a will in her that the study of this drama can avoid others.
The verdict is scheduled for March 11.
Society
Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray attack: Five years after the assassination of Father Hamel, tribute to "the man of the Church and committed citizen"
Justice
Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray attack: Four people returned to the assizes for the assassination of Father Hamel
Trial
Terrorist attack
Terrorism
Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray
Justice
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