Nice Attack Investigation Concludes: Judges to Decide on Terrorism Trial for 8 Suspects

At the end of April, the anti-terrorism judges notified the parties of the end of the investigations, reports Le Parisien. This implies that they will have to decide whether the eight suspects charged were aware of a terrorist project or whether they had provided assistance to the perpetrator of the Nice attack, which occurred on July 14, 2016.

If the answer is yes, the trial would open before the special assize court. If the terrorism charges prove to be too weak, the magistrates could declare themselves incompetent, analyzes the same source. As a result, the Nice Criminal Court will hear the case with common law offenses.

The complexity of this case lies in the personality of the killer and the fact that he is deceased. According to the investigation, Lahouiaej-Bouhlel had shown recent signs of interest in radical Islam on the internet. It confirms the thesis of a rapid radicalization. According to witnesses, the assailant was an unstable man, not very religious and fascinated by sadistic and morbid violence. He had many conquests, women as well as men, an obsession with sex and alcoholic evenings, they say. No link with Daesh.

Without a clear motive, the investigation cannot affirm that the eight suspects charged participated in a terrorist project. The suspects say they did not know that the Franco-Tunisian was preparing an attack.

For Karim Laouafi and Frédéric Nasrinfar, lawyers for the man suspected of having provided a weapon, "the judges must restore the true qualification of the facts". "Our client has been incarcerated for too long for terrorist acts when he has nothing to do with radical Islam, they say. This is the case for the majority of those charged." "A trial in the criminal court would be experienced in a dramatic way by the victims. The solidity of the charges must be discussed before the assize court," comments, for his part, Gérard Chemla, lawyer for civil parties.