Gwladys Laffitte
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6:20 p.m., February 23, 2022
For more than three weeks, the trial of Nordahl Lelandais, accused of the murder and kidnapping of little Maëlys, 8 and a half years old, on the night of August 26 to 27, 2017, attracted a lot of public. There were several dozen of them, every day, queuing in front of the Grenoble court, sometimes from 2 a.m., to hope for the chance to enter the courtroom and see the accused.
But some took advantage of their place in the room to break the law. This is the case of a 40-year-old woman, who, in the first days of the trial, filmed Nordahl Lelandais in the defendants’ box, as revealed by the Dauphiné Libéré.
A video of a few seconds broadcast live
On this video of a few seconds, we can see the accused standing, talking with his lawyer, probably during a suspension, while the room empties. This video was streamed live on a famous social network and shared. Very quickly, the Grenoble prosecutor’s office had opened an investigation for the use of a sound or image recording device at the criminal hearing, a criminally punishable offence.
Reminder of the law and 100€ citizen contribution
According to information collected by Europe 1, the 40-year-old woman was heard by the Grenoble police on Tuesday afternoon. According to the Grenoble public prosecutor’s office, a prosecutor’s delegate notified her this Wednesday afternoon of a reminder of the law and forced her to pay a sum of €100 “in respect of the citizen’s contribution. It was agreed with her that this sum will be paid in two instalments”, indicates Éric Vaillant, public prosecutor of Grenoble. This sum will be donated to an association that helps victims.
Moreover, during this same trial, a 40-year-old man had taken a selfie in the courtroom. However, he had erased the image at the request of the police officers who had surprised him. “He is summoned in March before the prosecutor’s delegate for a reminder of the law and a citizen contribution of €50”, explains Eric Vaillant.