Trial of the Strasbourg attack: the court examines the profile of the terrorist
A week after the opening of the Strasbourg Christmas market attack, the Court looked into the profile of the terrorist Cherif Chekatt.
The Court heard from one of his brothers, his father and Michael Chiolo, a former fellow inmate who will be tried next year for stabbing two prison guards.
But after 9 hours of hearing, the contours of Cherif Chekatt's profile remain unclear.
Police officers stand guard near the courtroom of the trial for the 2018 Strasbourg Christmas market attack, at the Paris courthouse, on the Île de la Cité, in Paris, February 29, 2024. © Ian Langsdon / AFP
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Hearing report,
Laura Martel
In
France
, four people are on trial for having participated, to varying degrees, in providing weapons to Cherif Chekatt, a 29-year-old from Strasbourg.
The latter was shot dead by the police, two days after his deadly journey on December 11, 2018, during which he
killed five people
.
First there is the logorrhea of the older brother, “
theatrical, contradictory, vindictive and worrying
” summarizes a lawyer for the parties, from which it emerges above all that he considers his younger brother as “
a victim
”.
“
My brother was a good person, but who experienced a lot of injustice,
” he says, before continuing: “
he was gentle, generous, but unfortunately naive and not adapted to living in this world
".
“
His act is inexcusable, but he committed it because he was rotten during his childhood
,” he adds.
Next comes the father.
The latter has loose ties with this son, about whom he ultimately has little to say, beyond the fact that he was "
kind and polite
" and that he would "
never have believed him capable
" of such crime.
Read also Trial of the Strasbourg attack: the blurred contours of Chérif Chekatt's profile
An attraction for IS
The clearest is ultimately Michael Chiolo.
This open supporter of the Islamic State, who, while claiming responsibility for the attack on two guards, also spoke of “
avenging
” Cherif Chekatt.
“
A man who followed through on his beliefs and convictions
,” he describes, in the middle of a speech modeled on Daesh propaganda.
“
As early as 2014, Cherif had a certain attraction for IS.
He had in mind to attack France
,” confides the witness, then explains: “
he only talked about it once.
IS advocates precautions to avoid arrest.
In Cherif's place, if I was looking for a weapon, I would have mentioned a robbery.
If you talk about an attack, even a friend of 15 years can report you
.”
An interesting point for the main accused, who rightly maintains that he was thinking of selling a weapon to his delinquent friend for a criminal project, and not a terrorist one.
In the end, we were caught by bullets in France and that's what's very sad.
00:55
The civil parties in the Strasbourg attack trial have their say.
Among the terrorist's victims: Kamal Nagchband, 45, French of Afghan origin who had fled terrorism in his country.
His niece Feloza testified.
Laura Martel
The testimony of the widow of Kamal Nagchband, one of the victims
The civil parties in the Strasbourg attack trial have their say.
On December 11, 2018, Cherif Chekatt, 29, shot two days later by the police, killed five people at the Christmas market.
Among them, Kamal Nagchband, 45, a Frenchman of Afghan origin who fled the Taliban's rise to power at the end of the 1990s. His family, including his widow, Saghar, gave very strong testimonies.
The emotion in Saghar's voice, interspersed with sobs, is so poignant that we forget the performer.
That evening, Kamal, the Afghan agricultural engineer turned French mechanic, exceptionally came home early from work.
He promised his children aged 2, 5 and 6 to show them the Christmas market.
“
He told me: dress them well, it’s cold
,” testifies his widow.
In the busy streets, the family debates where to eat, takes a few photos.
“
He was holding our daughter by the hand.
Our sons walked in front.
We were happy
,” says Saghar, his voice breaking.
Suddenly, “
the man arrived, he touched my husband on the shoulder.
I thought he wanted to ask something, but he took his gun
.”
Kamal collapses.
“
Everything became dark, the night seemed to fall
,” she breathes.
“
I saw the blood on his forehead.
I started screaming
.”
Witnesses push Saghar and the little ones, in a state of shock, to take shelter.
The wait lasts hours.
“
I couldn’t look my children in the eyes,
” she confides.
Kamal will die two days later, in this hospital which saw the birth of their three children, but which she can no longer pass today “
without gasping
”.
“
The last few years have been very difficult
,” Saghar sums up simply.
What to say to your daughter, who, proudly spinning around in her dress, would like to show it to her dad and asks, as often, when he will come back?
This little girl, now eight years old, who like her brothers, hugs her mother with all her strength after her testimony.
Also read: The chilling story of the Strasbourg attack: “15 minutes to save my life”
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