It’s obviously a trial highly anticipated. Fourteen accused must be tried for two and a half months for the attacks of January 2015: those of Charlie Hebdo, of Hyper Hide and the death of the municipal policewoman in Montrouge.
The hearing opened at 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning, but journalists from the 90 accredited media, as well as the public, have been present at the Paris courthouse for more than two hours. It must be said that to access the courtrooms, it is better to show a white paw. Two security checks have been installed. In the main courtroom, only twenty seats are reserved for the press. The others are reserved for lawyers or the 200 announced civil parties. But it’s first room is not enough to accommodate everyone. The hearing is therefore broadcast in three other rooms, on the second floor of the huge courthouse. The public is confined to the ground floor, in the auditorium.
Defendants with the mask
Still effervescence in the room, where many hooded police officers supervise the defendants immediately distributed in the two glass boxes. Ten of the fourteen accused detained, also arrived before 8 am under good escort. Three others are still under arrest warrant and one appears free.
For many people, their faces are being discovered for the first time, even if they wear surgical masks, to respect health measures. All are tried by the special assize court, for having provided, to varying degrees, logistical support to the Kouachi brothers and Amédy Coulibaly, perpetrators of the attacks killed by the police.
Due to the health crisis, it will also be a feature of this extraordinary trial, all those present must imperatively wear a mask. During the whole trial, everyone will be masked: the president of the Assize Court, the two advocates general, the defendants …
, confirmed, before the hearing, Jean-François Ricard, the attorney general of the national anti-terrorism prosecution.
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