Life Sentence for Accomplice in 2016 Magnanville Police Murders

After eight hours of deliberation and twelve days of trial, the Special Assize Court in Paris validated the thesis of the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office. "The court answered yes to all the questions. It found you guilty of the acts of complicity in murders, complicity in kidnapping and terrorist criminal conspiracy. It sentences you to life imprisonment with a security period of 22 years," the judges concluded. For the court, Mohamed Lamine Aberouz is the accomplice of Larossi Abballa who, on June 13, 2016 in Magnanville, slit the throat of Jessica Schneider and stabbed Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, a couple of police officers, in front of their 3-year-old son.

Me Nino Arnaud and Vincent Brengarth, the defense lawyers, denounced "a scandalous decision" and announced their intention to appeal. "We do not condemn on the basis of hypotheses," they said at the end of the trial. Childhood friend of the terrorist, Aberouz’s presence at the crime scene still raises questions. His DNA was found in only one place in the home. "For me it is inconceivable to be convicted for a crime I did not commit. I am innocent of Larossi Abballa’s actions," the accused had told the court.

Explaining the "general meaning" of the decision, the president Christophe Petiteau said that the Special Assize Court, in view of Aberouz’s statements at the hearing where "he trivializes and justifies the use of violence" and says "he does not share the values of the Republic", considers that the accused is "totally committed to the cause of the Islamic State". His sole DNA trace found on the right wrist rest of the victims’ computer "establishes his presence in the house," the president argues. "It is unlikely that one would attack two people alone..." he added, noting that the victims’ child revealed "the existence of a second individual speaking with Larossi Abbala".

For Jessica Schneider’s mother, it is a "very heavy sentence", but "commensurate with the tragedy and the suffering". "I had confidence in justice, it has been rendered," she said as she left the trial. "The court took the measure of the evidence debated, without being trapped by the biased vision of the defense," estimates her lawyer, Me Thibault de Montbrial. "Many questions remain and the Salvaing family was aware of this from the start of the debates," reacted Me Pauline Dufourq, lawyer for the family of Jean-Baptiste Salvaing in a statement. "(She) aspires to find calm and appeasement".