The trial of Rédoine Faïd’s escape resumed Monday before the Paris Assize Court after a suspension following the mistaken broadcast at the hearing of the face of an accused appearing in hiding. The verdict date was postponed by five days. It should be delivered on Wednesday October 25.
Thursday, at the start of his interrogation, the face of a defendant appearing in hiding appeared on the courtroom screens facing the public. However, he had to be protected because he changed his life and his identity after denouncing a figure of Corsican organized crime. The president, Frédérique Aline, then announced that a photo had been taken, and was “already broadcast on social networks“. She contradicted those comments on Monday, indicating that at this point, “no photo on social networks (could) be identified”.
Friday, the day after this incident, the magistrate decided to postpone the hearing for a few days, the lawyer for the accused appearing in hiding having said that she was not “in good condition” to defend it. The prosecution had opened an investigation. An administrative investigation was also launched.
Monday when the hearing resumed, several lawyers for other defendants were concerned about the consequences of this incident on the court’s perception of the hearing. “I wondered what file we were in”said Maître Thibaut Rouffiac, the lawyer for one of the five relatives of Rédoine Faïd tried alongside him for the escape in 2018 from Réau prison.
“Are you going to be able to try to judge with complete peace of mind, remembering that initially, this is a case of escape (…) and not Corsican bandits?”he asked the professional magistrates and jurors. “If I sent the file back on Friday, it is also for these reasons”, replied the president. What happened “is a technical incident, and the serenity of the debates must be the priority. I felt that the serenity was not there on Friday morning”.
The hearing will be devoted Monday and Tuesday to the psychiatric and psychological expertise of the accused. The interrogation of the accused appearing in hiding must resume Wednesday morning. The end of the debates is now scheduled for Monday, October 23, with the last words of the accused, indicated the president. The court will then deliberate, to deliver its verdict on Wednesday 25 (instead of Friday 20), “at an indefinite hour”.
As a precaution, the magistrate finally clarified, the rebroadcast screens in the courtroom will now remain turned off.
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