Paris: The time of the verdict in the ‘trial of the century’

The verdict in the historic trial for the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris is expected today, completing a painful cycle for the survivors.

Paris: The time of the verdict in

The largest criminal trial in the history of France, which began in September 2021, has been under draconian security measures for many months. The area around the Courthouse in the heart of Paris is a high-security area with dozens of police officers guarding the building. More than 20 people are on trial for the biggest terrorist attack on French soil since World War II, six of whom are missing or rumored to have died.

A total of 130 people were killed on November 13, 2015, and thousands were injured when a group of terrorists stormed the Bataclan concert hall in the Stade de France, France’s national stadium, and six local bars and restaurants. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, calling on its allies to attack France over its involvement in the war against jihadists in Iraq and Syria. “I had absolutely no expectations from the process, but now I’m really happy that I played an active role in the trial – that means I did not remain apathetic,” said 30-year-old David Fritz Gπινppinger, one of the 2,000 plaintiffs in the interview. in DW.

Image of massacre in Bataklan

“It was like waiting in line for hell,” the French-Chilean photographer described the events of that night as he testified. He continues to have nightmares after the terrorist attack. “I told myself you were going to die now, so I started praying to leave with dignity,” recalls the photographer who was in Bataklan that night. Since the start of the trial, Fritz Gπινppinger, a contributor to France Info, has posted one photo a day of the trial, paying tribute to the November 13 victims.

A similar picture is described by police officer Kampos in an interview with DW. “When we went in we saw a picture of a massacre,” he said. “There were corpses everywhere, there was the smell of blood and gunpowder and you could not see the floor because of the pools of blood.” Michelle Campos’s unit was the first to arrive at the scene of the attack, but her testimonies were not included in official police reports. “Neither the official reports nor the preliminary investigations later mentioned the role we took on that day and when I started talking about it I was called a liar. I was blacklisted and it became impossible for me to be promoted,” he said. To date, there is no official explanation why the names of these police officers do not appear in the official reports of the case.

The defendants also testified during the trial. For ten of them, the Prosecutor’s Office is requesting life imprisonment. Among them are the alleged perpetrators, who are, however, considered dead in Syria. In addition, associates of the terrorists who allegedly provided them with weapons and documents before the attack, such as Salah Abdeslam, who was in the French capital that day with the terrorists, are also on trial. He made contradictory statements in court, initially claiming to be a “supporter of the Islamic State”, but later apologizing to the victims and their families.

France’s democratic response to terrorism

For Arthur Denuvou, one of the survivors of the attack and chairman of the Life for Paris victims’ organization, the trial is France’s democratic response to these heinous terrorist attacks. “The trial shows that France has a legal system that knows how to judge such atrocities and that terrorism is a dead end that does not produce heroes. This may seem obvious, but there are still young people who are attracted to Islamist terrorism,” he said in an interview. in DW. “I hope that now everyone understands that terrorism has no future and that such attacks must stop now.”

Today’s verdict will pave the way for the next step, both for the victims and for France itself. “After that we survivors may finally stop seeing ourselves as victims and eventually turn to other things in life,” Denouvo said.

Kampos believes that this process has therapeutic significance, both for his country and for himself. After the attacks, he started attending anti-terrorism seminars and then delivering himself, as he believes that they themselves had made many mistakes that night, while they could have prevented them. He even intends to continue the seminars, while he decided to leave his job. “I asked to leave the police. I realized how difficult it is to change such a lazy system,” he said. “We all need to be much more careful than ever to make sure this never happens again,” said David Fritz Gπινppinger, who is deeply convinced that terrorism will not win.

The special room, built just for the needs of the trial, cost eight million euros. The whole process is videotaped, a fact rare for the French judicial system, which has followed the videotaping process only twelve times in the country’s history. What remains to be seen is what will ultimately be the outcome of this tumultuous trial.

Lisa Louis, Paris

Edited by: Iosifina Tsagalidou

Source: Deutsche Welle

Source: Capital

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