The three men were prosecuted for “terrorist criminal association” for the murder of Father Jacques Hamel in July 2016. They faced up to thirty years in prison.
If the trials in which the terrorists are dead and where justice is content to judge “second knives” can sometimes seem vain, that of the attack in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray (Seine-Maritime) proves the opposite. . Over the course of a month, it will have been successively the theater of tears, of a feeling of failure in the fight against terrorism but also of moments of grace. And undeniably, of humanity. This Wednesday afternoon, three men from the family or virtual entourage of the two jihadists who burst into the small Norman church on July 26, 2016 to slaughter Father Hamel were sentenced to sentences of up to thirteen years in prison. imprisonment for “criminal terrorist association”.
The specially composed Assize Court of Paris thus pronounced a sentence of eight years in prison against Yassine Sebaihia, ten years against Farid Khelil and thirteen years against Jean-Philippe Jean Louis. A fourth man, Rachid Kassim, a propagandist for the Islamic State (IS) organization presumed dead in Iraq, was sentenced in his absence to life imprisonment for “complicity” in the assassination of Father Hamel. But in its statement, the verdict seems almost secondary. The great moment of justice was found elsewhere: where, in the courtroom, we often see walls of incomprehension erected, the hearing here will have made it possible to bring together two parties that everything separated. Thanks to debates where love and wisdom have often chased away hatred and ignorance.
“Believe in me”
The last words of the defendants were the ultimate illustration, if not the climax. “After my eight hours of interrogation, I was tired, washed out, bruised, and you came down from your platform to bring me a handkerchief. […] By this gesture, Madam, you give me hope., entrusted Farid Khelil to a civil party. The young man was condemned for his adhesion to the jihadist ideology and to have “constantly supported and encouraged” his cousin, one of the terrorists, in his plans for violent action. For long minutes, he said to himself “marked for life” by the words of benevolence and forgiveness from Roseline Hamel, the priest’s sister, and Guy Coponet, who was injured by several stab wounds during the attack.
“Coming to talk about love here is admirable and I would like to return the favorhe says. I realized the weight of words and thanks to your testimony, I am a better man. Just as he understood the message of one of the nuns taken hostage by the terrorists: “She told me ‘Get up and be a man.’ It’s been six years since I got up and walked with great strides towards redemption. promising to have “exchange” and of “do everything to be a good man”he implored Roseline Hamel from him “give a second chance” : “Father Hamel believed in the man, please Mrs. Hamel, believe in me.” And, discreetly, with a nod and looking him straight in the eye, Roseline Hamel agreed. A moment suspended, considered as “the most precious of the three weeks of trial” by the old lady after the verdict. “I am soothed by these wordsshe said, upset, leaving the room. I hope they are sincere and consider them a gift. This exchange will be a base on which they will build themselves and find another path than the dark one they had taken.
“Reconcile two worlds”
In his last words, Jean-Philippe Jean Louis admits having “learned a lot” during this trial, going so far as to thank the prosecution and the lawyers for the civil parties. “Even if there may have been strong words, I take them as words of education, a lesson and not animosity towards us”, estimated the young man before explaining that he passes all possible diplomas in prison and wants to move towards philosophy. He was sentenced to thirteen years in prison for his “central role” in the propagation of jihadist ideology on social networks and as a facilitator of departures to Syria. “The trial put the defendants face to face with people, where they were locked up in front of their computers and propaganda. They touched the real and no longer the virtual”, analyzes Me Antoine Casubolo-Ferro, lawyer for relatives of Father Hamel. A few minutes before the verdict, the same was already saying that“beyond the penalties, justice has made it possible for them to become aware and to reconcile two worlds that never meet”.