Mohamed Ghraieb and Chokri Chafroud were sentenced to 18 years in prison on Tuesday, December 13 in Paris, after being found guilty of “terrorist criminal association”. Ramzi Arefa receives 12 years in prison. Seven men and a woman appeared for the attack which left 86 dead and 450 injured on July 14, 2016 in Nice. All of these people were found guilty.
With our special correspondent at the special assize court of Paris, Laura Martel
Very heavy sentences were handed down to two of the main defendants in the trial of the Nice attack, convicted of association with terrorist criminals.
Eighteen years in prison against two relatives of Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel: Mohamed Ghraieb and Chokri Chafroud therefore take more than the fifteen years required by the prosecution.
These two convictions were greeted by applause on the bench of the civil parties, even fuller than on the first day of the trial.
Immediate reaction from the president: It is not acceptable, justice needs serenity, not to be applauded, nor vilified elsewhere. »
For the two defendants, the court considered that they had inspired and morally and materially supported Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel.
On the other hand, concerning Ramzi Arefa, the third defendant initially prosecuted for terrorist criminal association, the court, as the prosecution had admitted, recognized that he had no idea of the radicalism of the killer when he provided a weapon, and therefore gave up the terrorist qualification for him. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison out of the fifteen that had been requested against him, in particular in view of his young age and his progress in detention, said the president.
The president who also clarified the reading that the court gave to this complex file. He thus reaffirmed that it was indeed an attack with obvious jihadist inspiration, despite persistent gray areas and despite the fact that the killer clearly suffered from personality disorders, he underlined . The court, however, was not convinced by the thesis of a perverse manipulation of the killer who would have sought to involve his entourage.
Seven men and a woman have been appearing since September 5 in Paris for the attack which left 86 dead and some 450 injured on the evening of July 14, 2016 in Nice. None were accused of having played a leading role in the attack on the Promenade des Anglais. Driving a 19-tonne truck, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had been shot dead by the police. The five professional magistrates found guilty the eight defendants, relatives or people tried for arms trafficking. All received sentences of two years or more in prison and now have ten days to appeal.
► Listen again: Trial of the Nice attack: the civil parties awaiting the verdict