First modification:
Almost six years after the murder of Father Jacques Hamel in a church near Rouen, in western France, the trial of the attack opened this Monday before the special court of the National High Court in Paris. Three suspected accomplices are on trial, along with the suspected instigator of the attack, Rachid Kassim. As for the two terrorists, they were killed at the scene of the crime.
This Monday a trial was opened that will last until March 11. It is the trial of the four alleged accomplices in the murder of Father Hamel, who was stabbed to death on July 26, 2016, in a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near the city of Rouen, by a young Islamist, Abdel- Malik Petitjean, together with Adel Kermiche. The two terrorists were killed by the Police just after the crime.
Three alleged accomplices, Jean-Philippe Jean Louis, Farid Khelil and Yassine Sebaihia, appear for “terrorist criminal association with a view to preparing one or more crimes against people” while the latter, Rachid Kassim, is accused of “complicity in a murder organized and attempted murder, committed because of the victim’s religious affiliation, in connection with a terrorist enterprise”. Kassim, who allegedly allowed “knowingly encouraging and facilitating the act” of the two jihadists, will be largely absent from the trial since he was presumed dead in a US air attack in Iraq in February 2017.
The victims present at the time of the drama and their relatives hope that the process will allow them to better “understand” the attack. Guy Coponet, who was attending mass at the time of the attack and was seriously injured, confessed this Monday in court: “Let justice be done, we are all here for that, it is past, now we have to fix the latest problems”, concluding that if those responsible “can apologize to everyone who caused pain, I think we will have won our day.”
For her part, the lawyer for Yassine Sebaihia, one of the defendants, explained: “We are anxious to be able to express ourselves because I believe that my client in this case has always, always, always rejected en bloc any knowledge of a terrorist project, it will be explained later. in discussions.”
The three defendants deny having any knowledge of the plans of action of the two murderers.
A trial without the main authors and key witnesses
In addition to the two murderers and the alleged organizer of the attack, four of the five police intelligence agents summoned were not present in court since “they are not in a psychological condition to be heard during the trial,” according to the medical certificates cited. by the president of the court. For their part, the three witness nuns who were present at mass at the time of the attack also sent a medical certificate that prevents them from testifying. They wanted to denounce the dark aspects of the case.
According to an article published in 2018 in ‘Mediapart’, several investigators from the intelligence department of the Paris Police had access a week before the murder to messages from the young man where he mentioned an attack in a church. Furthermore, Adel Kermiche, one of the assassins, was wearing an electronic bracelet when he went into action after a failed trip to Syria.
The absence of police representatives at the trial frustrated the victims and their families who want to understand if the attack could have been prevented.
“We are waiting for the truth to be told about the lack of resources that could not be given to the public force to prevent this massacre on my brother’s body,” Roseline, one of Father Jacques Hamel’s sisters, said Monday. She considers that “the warning signs of the attack against her brother were not taken seriously”.
The director of intelligence explained for his part that some of them were “psychologically broken” by this matter and by another attack that took place at the Police headquarters in 2019.
Summary of the facts
On July 26, 2016, 12 days after the Nice attack, which killed 86 people, Adel Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Petitjean, both 19, entered the small Normandy church to kill Father Jacques Hamel, 85. years. The attackers forced him to his knees and forced Guy Coponet, one of the victims present, to film the massacre.
The two assassins, who claimed to be members of the Islamic State (IS) group, responded to the terror group’s call to attack Catholic churches to start a religious war in France. Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean had quickly radicalized and tried to join ISIS in Syria, without success. The two were shot by the police as they left the church.
The “exemplary” reaction of the Christian and Muslim community
Although local and national representatives feared an escalation of tensions between religious communities, this case was a sign of solidarity between Muslims and Catholics.
Father Christian Salenson, a theologian of Islamic-Christian dialogue, recalled in a column in the French newspaper La Croix the human reaction between Christians and Muslims after the attack.
“At the call of religious leaders from the four corners of France, many Muslims flocked to churches the following Sunday to meet with Christians, share their ordeal and bear witness to their brotherhood.”
French President Emmanuel Macron even recognized the “example of appeasement” and thanked believers for their exemplary reaction.
With AFP, Reuters and local media
First modification:
Almost six years after the murder of Father Jacques Hamel in a church near Rouen, in western France, the trial of the attack opened this Monday before the special court of the National High Court in Paris. Three suspected accomplices are on trial, along with the suspected instigator of the attack, Rachid Kassim. As for the two terrorists, they were killed at the scene of the crime.
This Monday a trial was opened that will last until March 11. It is the trial of the four alleged accomplices in the murder of Father Hamel, who was stabbed to death on July 26, 2016, in a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near the city of Rouen, by a young Islamist, Abdel- Malik Petitjean, together with Adel Kermiche. The two terrorists were killed by the Police just after the crime.
Three alleged accomplices, Jean-Philippe Jean Louis, Farid Khelil and Yassine Sebaihia, appear for “terrorist criminal association with a view to preparing one or more crimes against people” while the latter, Rachid Kassim, is accused of “complicity in a murder organized and attempted murder, committed because of the victim’s religious affiliation, in connection with a terrorist enterprise”. Kassim, who allegedly allowed “knowingly encouraging and facilitating the act” of the two jihadists, will be largely absent from the trial since he was presumed dead in a US air attack in Iraq in February 2017.
The victims present at the time of the drama and their relatives hope that the process will allow them to better “understand” the attack. Guy Coponet, who was attending mass at the time of the attack and was seriously injured, confessed this Monday in court: “Let justice be done, we are all here for that, it is past, now we have to fix the latest problems”, concluding that if those responsible “can apologize to everyone who caused pain, I think we will have won our day.”
For her part, the lawyer for Yassine Sebaihia, one of the defendants, explained: “We are anxious to be able to express ourselves because I believe that my client in this case has always, always, always rejected en bloc any knowledge of a terrorist project, it will be explained later. in discussions.”
The three defendants deny having any knowledge of the plans of action of the two murderers.
A trial without the main authors and key witnesses
In addition to the two murderers and the alleged organizer of the attack, four of the five police intelligence agents summoned were not present in court since “they are not in a psychological condition to be heard during the trial,” according to the medical certificates cited. by the president of the court. For their part, the three witness nuns who were present at mass at the time of the attack also sent a medical certificate that prevents them from testifying. They wanted to denounce the dark aspects of the case.
According to an article published in 2018 in ‘Mediapart’, several investigators from the intelligence department of the Paris Police had access a week before the murder to messages from the young man where he mentioned an attack in a church. Furthermore, Adel Kermiche, one of the assassins, was wearing an electronic bracelet when he went into action after a failed trip to Syria.
The absence of police representatives at the trial frustrated the victims and their families who want to understand if the attack could have been prevented.
“We are waiting for the truth to be told about the lack of resources that could not be given to the public force to prevent this massacre on my brother’s body,” Roseline, one of Father Jacques Hamel’s sisters, said Monday. She considers that “the warning signs of the attack against her brother were not taken seriously”.
The director of intelligence explained for his part that some of them were “psychologically broken” by this matter and by another attack that took place at the Police headquarters in 2019.
Summary of the facts
On July 26, 2016, 12 days after the Nice attack, which killed 86 people, Adel Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Petitjean, both 19, entered the small Normandy church to kill Father Jacques Hamel, 85. years. The attackers forced him to his knees and forced Guy Coponet, one of the victims present, to film the massacre.
The two assassins, who claimed to be members of the Islamic State (IS) group, responded to the terror group’s call to attack Catholic churches to start a religious war in France. Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean had quickly radicalized and tried to join ISIS in Syria, without success. The two were shot by the police as they left the church.
The “exemplary” reaction of the Christian and Muslim community
Although local and national representatives feared an escalation of tensions between religious communities, this case was a sign of solidarity between Muslims and Catholics.
Father Christian Salenson, a theologian of Islamic-Christian dialogue, recalled in a column in the French newspaper La Croix the human reaction between Christians and Muslims after the attack.
“At the call of religious leaders from the four corners of France, many Muslims flocked to churches the following Sunday to meet with Christians, share their ordeal and bear witness to their brotherhood.”
French President Emmanuel Macron even recognized the “example of appeasement” and thanked believers for their exemplary reaction.
With AFP, Reuters and local media
First modification:
Almost six years after the murder of Father Jacques Hamel in a church near Rouen, in western France, the trial of the attack opened this Monday before the special court of the National High Court in Paris. Three suspected accomplices are on trial, along with the suspected instigator of the attack, Rachid Kassim. As for the two terrorists, they were killed at the scene of the crime.
This Monday a trial was opened that will last until March 11. It is the trial of the four alleged accomplices in the murder of Father Hamel, who was stabbed to death on July 26, 2016, in a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near the city of Rouen, by a young Islamist, Abdel- Malik Petitjean, together with Adel Kermiche. The two terrorists were killed by the Police just after the crime.
Three alleged accomplices, Jean-Philippe Jean Louis, Farid Khelil and Yassine Sebaihia, appear for “terrorist criminal association with a view to preparing one or more crimes against people” while the latter, Rachid Kassim, is accused of “complicity in a murder organized and attempted murder, committed because of the victim’s religious affiliation, in connection with a terrorist enterprise”. Kassim, who allegedly allowed “knowingly encouraging and facilitating the act” of the two jihadists, will be largely absent from the trial since he was presumed dead in a US air attack in Iraq in February 2017.
The victims present at the time of the drama and their relatives hope that the process will allow them to better “understand” the attack. Guy Coponet, who was attending mass at the time of the attack and was seriously injured, confessed this Monday in court: “Let justice be done, we are all here for that, it is past, now we have to fix the latest problems”, concluding that if those responsible “can apologize to everyone who caused pain, I think we will have won our day.”
For her part, the lawyer for Yassine Sebaihia, one of the defendants, explained: “We are anxious to be able to express ourselves because I believe that my client in this case has always, always, always rejected en bloc any knowledge of a terrorist project, it will be explained later. in discussions.”
The three defendants deny having any knowledge of the plans of action of the two murderers.
A trial without the main authors and key witnesses
In addition to the two murderers and the alleged organizer of the attack, four of the five police intelligence agents summoned were not present in court since “they are not in a psychological condition to be heard during the trial,” according to the medical certificates cited. by the president of the court. For their part, the three witness nuns who were present at mass at the time of the attack also sent a medical certificate that prevents them from testifying. They wanted to denounce the dark aspects of the case.
According to an article published in 2018 in ‘Mediapart’, several investigators from the intelligence department of the Paris Police had access a week before the murder to messages from the young man where he mentioned an attack in a church. Furthermore, Adel Kermiche, one of the assassins, was wearing an electronic bracelet when he went into action after a failed trip to Syria.
The absence of police representatives at the trial frustrated the victims and their families who want to understand if the attack could have been prevented.
“We are waiting for the truth to be told about the lack of resources that could not be given to the public force to prevent this massacre on my brother’s body,” Roseline, one of Father Jacques Hamel’s sisters, said Monday. She considers that “the warning signs of the attack against her brother were not taken seriously”.
The director of intelligence explained for his part that some of them were “psychologically broken” by this matter and by another attack that took place at the Police headquarters in 2019.
Summary of the facts
On July 26, 2016, 12 days after the Nice attack, which killed 86 people, Adel Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Petitjean, both 19, entered the small Normandy church to kill Father Jacques Hamel, 85. years. The attackers forced him to his knees and forced Guy Coponet, one of the victims present, to film the massacre.
The two assassins, who claimed to be members of the Islamic State (IS) group, responded to the terror group’s call to attack Catholic churches to start a religious war in France. Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean had quickly radicalized and tried to join ISIS in Syria, without success. The two were shot by the police as they left the church.
The “exemplary” reaction of the Christian and Muslim community
Although local and national representatives feared an escalation of tensions between religious communities, this case was a sign of solidarity between Muslims and Catholics.
Father Christian Salenson, a theologian of Islamic-Christian dialogue, recalled in a column in the French newspaper La Croix the human reaction between Christians and Muslims after the attack.
“At the call of religious leaders from the four corners of France, many Muslims flocked to churches the following Sunday to meet with Christians, share their ordeal and bear witness to their brotherhood.”
French President Emmanuel Macron even recognized the “example of appeasement” and thanked believers for their exemplary reaction.
With AFP, Reuters and local media
First modification:
Almost six years after the murder of Father Jacques Hamel in a church near Rouen, in western France, the trial of the attack opened this Monday before the special court of the National High Court in Paris. Three suspected accomplices are on trial, along with the suspected instigator of the attack, Rachid Kassim. As for the two terrorists, they were killed at the scene of the crime.
This Monday a trial was opened that will last until March 11. It is the trial of the four alleged accomplices in the murder of Father Hamel, who was stabbed to death on July 26, 2016, in a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near the city of Rouen, by a young Islamist, Abdel- Malik Petitjean, together with Adel Kermiche. The two terrorists were killed by the Police just after the crime.
Three alleged accomplices, Jean-Philippe Jean Louis, Farid Khelil and Yassine Sebaihia, appear for “terrorist criminal association with a view to preparing one or more crimes against people” while the latter, Rachid Kassim, is accused of “complicity in a murder organized and attempted murder, committed because of the victim’s religious affiliation, in connection with a terrorist enterprise”. Kassim, who allegedly allowed “knowingly encouraging and facilitating the act” of the two jihadists, will be largely absent from the trial since he was presumed dead in a US air attack in Iraq in February 2017.
The victims present at the time of the drama and their relatives hope that the process will allow them to better “understand” the attack. Guy Coponet, who was attending mass at the time of the attack and was seriously injured, confessed this Monday in court: “Let justice be done, we are all here for that, it is past, now we have to fix the latest problems”, concluding that if those responsible “can apologize to everyone who caused pain, I think we will have won our day.”
For her part, the lawyer for Yassine Sebaihia, one of the defendants, explained: “We are anxious to be able to express ourselves because I believe that my client in this case has always, always, always rejected en bloc any knowledge of a terrorist project, it will be explained later. in discussions.”
The three defendants deny having any knowledge of the plans of action of the two murderers.
A trial without the main authors and key witnesses
In addition to the two murderers and the alleged organizer of the attack, four of the five police intelligence agents summoned were not present in court since “they are not in a psychological condition to be heard during the trial,” according to the medical certificates cited. by the president of the court. For their part, the three witness nuns who were present at mass at the time of the attack also sent a medical certificate that prevents them from testifying. They wanted to denounce the dark aspects of the case.
According to an article published in 2018 in ‘Mediapart’, several investigators from the intelligence department of the Paris Police had access a week before the murder to messages from the young man where he mentioned an attack in a church. Furthermore, Adel Kermiche, one of the assassins, was wearing an electronic bracelet when he went into action after a failed trip to Syria.
The absence of police representatives at the trial frustrated the victims and their families who want to understand if the attack could have been prevented.
“We are waiting for the truth to be told about the lack of resources that could not be given to the public force to prevent this massacre on my brother’s body,” Roseline, one of Father Jacques Hamel’s sisters, said Monday. She considers that “the warning signs of the attack against her brother were not taken seriously”.
The director of intelligence explained for his part that some of them were “psychologically broken” by this matter and by another attack that took place at the Police headquarters in 2019.
Summary of the facts
On July 26, 2016, 12 days after the Nice attack, which killed 86 people, Adel Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Petitjean, both 19, entered the small Normandy church to kill Father Jacques Hamel, 85. years. The attackers forced him to his knees and forced Guy Coponet, one of the victims present, to film the massacre.
The two assassins, who claimed to be members of the Islamic State (IS) group, responded to the terror group’s call to attack Catholic churches to start a religious war in France. Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean had quickly radicalized and tried to join ISIS in Syria, without success. The two were shot by the police as they left the church.
The “exemplary” reaction of the Christian and Muslim community
Although local and national representatives feared an escalation of tensions between religious communities, this case was a sign of solidarity between Muslims and Catholics.
Father Christian Salenson, a theologian of Islamic-Christian dialogue, recalled in a column in the French newspaper La Croix the human reaction between Christians and Muslims after the attack.
“At the call of religious leaders from the four corners of France, many Muslims flocked to churches the following Sunday to meet with Christians, share their ordeal and bear witness to their brotherhood.”
French President Emmanuel Macron even recognized the “example of appeasement” and thanked believers for their exemplary reaction.
With AFP, Reuters and local media