Moroccan Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Murder in France’s Saône-et-Loire

This trial came to an end on Thursday, June 18. The public prosecutor had requested a sentence of 30 years of criminal imprisonment with an 18-year security period, as well as an obligation of care, as she felt there were enough gray areas in this case, reports franceinfo.

The day before, Olivier Forray, the defense lawyer, described his client’s personality. "He is a completely uprooted man at that time. Who doesn’t know where he’s going to live, who doesn’t know what he’s going to live, who doesn’t know how he’s going to live it. He’s no longer really a man, he can no longer work, he can no longer do anything," the defendant’s lawyer assured.

Arguments that are far from convincing the grandparents and one of Valentin Amrouche’s sisters. "He doesn’t have to hide behind illness or anything else," Girard Vandesbosh, the victim’s grandfather, insists. On the stand, Tarik Attar maintains his statements. He acknowledges having inflicted fatal blows on Valentin Amrouche but never having intended to do so.

According to the facts, a dispute had broken out between Valentin Amrouche and Tarik Attar. The origin of this dispute was a theft case of which Amin, Valentin’s friend and Tarik’s nephew, would have been the victim. Blows were exchanged, then knife blows, recalls the same source. The accused then went to Morocco before returning to France where he has been in pre-trial detention since August 2017.

After four days of trial at the Saône-et-Loire Assize Court, the verdict was handed down: the accused was sentenced to 30 years of criminal imprisonment with a 12-year security period.