At the trial of the Nice attack, the evasive Mohamed Ghraieb
A general view of the court in Paris during the opening of the Nice attack trial, September 5, 2022. AFP - BENOIT PEYRUCQ
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2 mins
At the trial of the July 14, 2016 attack in Nice, the special assize court began to examine the personality of the seven defendants and the facts with which they are charged.
This Wednesday, she became interested in Mohamed Ghraieb, a 46-year-old Franco-Tunisian, prosecuted for terrorist criminal association.
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With our special correspondent at the Paris courthouse,
Laura Martel
In addition to his numerous contacts with the killer Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, Mohamed Ghraieb is accused, among others, of having traveled with him on July 11 aboard the future ram truck.
Clean-shaven, graying hair, the accused speaks calmly, but his answers are brief and often evasive.
“
You know, it is decisive that we can identify your personality and appreciate your sincerity
”, pushes the president.
But the accused remains tight-lipped about his happy and comfortable childhood in Tunisia in an “
open
” family.
The mother, a bookseller, and the father, a school principal, value work and teach their children that they "
can vote for anything, except Islamist
", insists his sister.
This Mohamed so “
nice
”, animal lover, who “
does not even know how to pray correctly
”, “
him, radicalized or a terrorist?
It's unimaginable
, ”she says.
UMP card
Over the questions, the person ends up describing himself as happy with his family, “
very well integrated
” in France thanks to his work as a receptionist.
He even took his card from the UMP, the ancestor of the Les Républicains party.
But he often helps himself, unable to be precise on subjects as trivial as the meeting place with his Finnish wife.
Even when it was easy, “
Mr. Ghraieb didn't help himself.
He often responds
at a minimum
, starting with a lie before later settling for the truth
, ”notes the anti-terrorist investigator.
“
Me, I just want to end this story, to be cleared
,” breathes Mohamed Ghraieb, who presented himself to the police the day after the attack.
He had then admitted to having climbed into the killer's truck four days earlier, but denied any knowledge of his terrorist project.
On this point, the investigator also provided arguments in his defense.
“
You suggest that the accused was unaware that Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was going to use the truck to commit an attack
,” notes the president.
“
Clearly, yes
,” replies the investigator.
►
To read also: Nice attack: a killer with an elusive profile and motivations
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