The Paris Assize Court has ruled on the fate of the seven accused in the trial of the Carcassonne and Trèbes attacks. Relatives of the attacker, killed by the GIGN, received sentences of up to four years in prison.
Up to eleven years of criminal imprisonment had been requested by the parquet anti-terrorism. Ultimately, all the sentences are much lower than those requested. They range from six months to four years in prison. And while five of the seven accused were tried for terrorist conspiracy, four of them were acquitted of this offense. The only person to have finally been found guilty of terrorist conspiracy is the girlfriend of Radouane Lakdim. Marine Pequignot, who admitted during the trial to having been radicalized at the time, will however not return to prison, reports The Dispatch. Sentenced to 5 years in prison, including 2 years suspended on probation, she had already spent more than two years in pre-trial detention.
In details, The Independent reports that Sofiane Manaa, who was accused of possession of unauthorized weapons, was sentenced to 12 months in prison with a 6-month suspended sentence. One of the terrorist’s best friends, Baghdad Haddaoui, was sentenced to 3 years, including 2 years suspended, while his brother-in-law, Ahmed Arfaoui, was sentenced to 3 years in prison. For his part, Reda El Yaakoubi was sentenced to 4 years in prison. Sofian Boudebbouza was sentenced to 4 years in prison, 2 of which were suspended. For having accompanied Radouane Lakdim to buy the knife which was used to kill Arnaud Beltrame, Samir Manaa was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Most of them are also prohibited from carrying a weapon.
Sanctions “fairly commensurate with what they did”
The defense arguments concluded on Thursday. Six years after the assassination of four people, including gendarme Arnaud Beltrame, sentences of up to eleven years of criminal imprisonment were therefore requested against seven relatives of the terrorist, Radouane Lakdim, killed during the assault law enforcement, reports The Independent. The investigation having shown that the attacker had acted alone, none of them was tried for “complicity”. The general advocates, Me Alexa Dubourg and Me Aurélie Valente, representatives of the national anti-terrorism prosecution, recalled that the objective was not to place the burden of Radouane Lakdim’s absence on the accused, but to sanction them “at the a fair measure of what they have done.