Jonathan Geffroy trial: 18 years in prison required against the ex-jihadist of the IS
The special assize court in Paris (photo illustration).
AP - Christophe Ena
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
It was time for the indictment, this Monday, January 23, at the trial of Jonathan Geffroy.
This 40-year-old man from Toulouse is being prosecuted before the Paris special assize court for "terrorist criminal association", for having joined the ranks of IS fighters, as a family, in February 2015. After contacting French intelligence for requesting assistance with exfiltration, Jonathan Geffroy has collaborated with the services and the justice system since his arrest in September 2017. But his "repentant" posture did not convince the general counsel.
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Transcript,
Laura Martel
For the Advocate General, Jonathan Geffroy is not a repentant, but an opportunist.
Adhering for a long time to the ideology of the Islamic State organization, when he goes to the Iraqi-Syrian zone, it is not to be an ambulance driver as he claims: "
He knows he is going to fight
", insists- she.
Moreover, beyond the ideology, it is also “
the feeling of power and the free housing of the combatants that he came to seek
”, asserts the magistrate.
And of course Jonathan Geffroy fights more than he says, he who is a member of an elite katibat that we “
do not integrate to take
it easy ”, she quips.
►To re-read: Trial of ex-jihadist Jonathan Geffroy: "At the time, I was in a utopia"
As for his desire to leave the terrorist organization, the magistrate does not see it as a sign of disengagement, but there again, the preservation of his interests: “
Over there, he only knows failure;
and that's the problem for him, more than an awareness
,” she says.
And she adds:
This opportunist wanted to enjoy a pasha's life and the power of IS, but suffer defeats and bombardments, very little for him, so he tries to negotiate his return.
An opportunistic defendant also in his relationship with information and justice: "
He speaks to say nothing, he pretends to be cooperative to hope for a reduction in sentence
", stings the magistrate.
"
To consider the future of a detainee, you have to trust him
," she points out.
However, the "
troubled personality
" of Jonathan Geffroy, who "
shamelessly minimizes his activities in the area
", maintains the "
vagueness about his current level of disengagement
", she believes.
Hence a heavy sentence requested: 18 years in prison with a two-thirds security period.
►Read also: The former Toulouse jihadist Jonathan Geffroy before the special assize court in Paris
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