This Thursday morning, in their pleadings, Peter Cherif’s lawyers denounced a “fixed match”.
For three weeks, jihadist Peter Cherif has been on trial for criminal terrorist conspiracy between 2011 and 2018 before the Special Assize Court of Paris. This Thursday, October 3 in the early evening, the 42-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the organization of the Charlie Hebdo attack on January 7, 2015. Life imprisonment, accompanied by a security period of 22 years, was initially requested by the two attorneys general.
Peter Cherif is accused of having joined the ranks of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Present in Yemen between 2011 and 2018, he is suspected of having participated in the training of his childhood friend, a certain Chérif Kouachi. With his brother, they were the authors of the attack against the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in 2015. A tragedy claimed by AQAP, which cost the lives of 12 people. During his trial, Peter Cherif, who was also accused of having kidnapped three French humanitarian workers for five months in 2011, admitted to having served as a translator between the hostages and their jailers. On the other hand, he has always assured that he played no role in the attack against Charlie Hebdo.
His lawyers defended the thesis of a “fixed match” in advance during their pleadings this Thursday morning, arguing that the objective of the ministry was “to eliminate Peter Cherif” and that “for this we are obliged of […] have him convicted in relation to the attacks” of January 2015. Stressing that his client was not judged in this case for “complicity”, Me El Ouchikli pointed out that “the public prosecutor admitted that he did not have the elements ” allowing us to move in the direction and that he had therefore “circumvented” the problem by accusing Peter Cherif of “criminal terrorist association”, a term with a very broad definition.