Trial of attack in Nice ends with long prison sentences and applause

Applause echoed in the courtroom as the presiding judge announced an 18-year prison sentence for one of the accused in the trial of the Nice terrorist attack, believed to have been motivated by Islamism and which killed 86 people. The court in Paris on Tuesday evening convicted him of membership in a terrorist organization, as well as another of eight suspects who are considered accomplices and supporters. Both are said to have supported and inspired the assassin morally and materially.

In the attack six and a half years ago, Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a heavy truck into a crowd on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. He also shot people. In the end, 86 were killed. More than 200 people were injured in the attack on July 14, 2016, the French national holiday. The perpetrator was shot dead after the crime.

Following the attack, the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the crime. According to the court, this alleged confession was opportunistic despite the perpetrator’s interest in jihadism. A connection with a terrorist organization was not found, but a clear inspiration from jihadism.

According to the public prosecutor’s office, the two defendants, who were sentenced to 18 years in prison, knew about the attitude of the man and that he was capable of carrying out an attack. They would have been involved in the search for a weapon.

Convicts helped the killer

The court also sentenced the man who was given the weapon used in the attack to 12 years in prison. The other five suspects in the trial, who were also involved in the purchase of the gun or another weapon, according to the verdict, would be imprisoned for between two and eight years. The suspects can still appeal against the court’s decision.

It is possible that some relatives and survivors had hoped for even harsher sentences. But the prosecutor’s office had already made it clear that none of the eight suspects could be convicted as if he were the murderer. The sentences imposed by the court for membership of a terrorist organization now even went beyond what the prosecutor’s office had demanded.

For lawyer Alexandra de Brossin de Méré, who represents the mothers of a murdered Berlin schoolgirl and the teacher in the proceedings, it is a general judgment one can live with, she told the German news agency. “For the civil parties and the families of the victims, this is a nice signal that the judiciary has taken it so seriously and has done what it could do in such a difficult situation.”

In court since September

The special court in Paris has been investigating the attack in Nice since September. Even though the shot killer was not in court himself, the trial went into detail about his attack plans and attitude. Judge Laurent Raviot said the perpetrator chose his actions to sow terror. He struck at a place that was always full and at a festival that celebrated the republic and its values. The attack was also a national trauma.

More than 2,000 relatives and victims acted as co-plaintiffs. For several weeks they reported to the court about their memories of the attack and the traces the terrorist act had left on them. The mother of one of the murdered Berlin schoolgirls also addressed the court in tears. De Brossin de Méré said her client was very good.

The fact that the public prosecutor’s office admitted official errors and apologized for them may have exceeded the expectations of many relatives and those left behind. The verdict now marks an important step for them. Still, many victims hope that the legal work is not over yet. Because the issue of security measures in Nice was only marginally addressed in the Paris procedure. Investigations are still ongoing in the Mediterranean city and many victims hope for a second trial.

And some concerns are also associated with the end of the process. Lucie Lemaire, 20, told the Liberation newspaper that she feared the general public would not remember the trial, which attracted little interest in France, and would not remember the attack. “I just want to say: don’t forget us!” (saw/sda/dpa)