Cinematic helicopter escape near Paris: 14 years in prison for prison escape Kiev calls for EU accession talks by the end of 2023 – the night update without photos

Five years after the spectacular helicopter escape of a known criminal from a prison near Paris, a court sentenced the escapee to 14 years in prison. Serial perpetrator Rédoine Faïd (51), specialized in robbing banks and money transport vehicles, had to answer for the cinematic escape with eleven alleged helpers on July 1, 2018. At that moment, three armed accomplices took control of a helicopter, landed in a prison courtyard and took Faïd on board. The eruption lasted only a few minutes and no one was injured.

The court in Paris ruled on Thursday evening after hours of deliberation. The prosecutor had demanded 22 years in prison for the famous escapee. His lawyer had asked for five to eight years in prison.

The Frenchman, who had already been sentenced to prison several times, was arrested near Paris three months after his escape. In order not to be detected by investigators, he temporarily hid under a burqa, that is, under a full body veil. Faïd had already escaped from prison once in 2013. At that time he had taken four guards hostage.

In 2018, a court sentenced him to 25 years in prison for his alleged role in a botched robbery in 2010. A police officer was killed in a chase. Faïd, who says he was fascinated by gangster films as a teenager, published an autobiographical novel in 2010 after his first long prison sentence and has appeared as a guest in numerous TV shows. Contrary to what was foreshadowed in his novel, his criminal career continued. (sda/dpa)