PARIS: A French court on Saturday upheld the life sentence handed to Mohamed Lamine Aberouz, convicted of complicity in the 2016 jihadist killing of a police couple at their home in Magnanville, near Paris.
The murders, carried out in front of the victims’ three-year-old child, were claimed by the Islamic State group.
Aberouz, a 31-year-old Franco-Moroccan, was found guilty of aiding attacker Larossi Abballa, who fatally stabbed police commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, 42, and his partner Jessica Schneider, 36, in a brutal act of terror. Abballa slit Schneider’s throat and killed Salvaing outside the family home before being shot dead by police.
Abballa broadcast a chilling video from the scene, claiming allegiance to the Islamic State. The attack marked a grim first: uniformed police officers targeted and murdered at home by a known jihadist.
The Paris Special Criminal Court confirmed Aberouz’s guilt on all counts, including complicity in murder of public officials and membership in a terrorist conspiracy. Prosecutors argued that Aberouz was present at the crime scene and had supported the attack. His DNA was found on a laptop belonging to the victims.
Aberouz, however, continues to assert his innocence, claiming he was in prayer at the time of the killings and had no part in Abballa’s actions. “It was his evil will,” he said in court, expressing regret for knowing Abballa. “I assure you that I have no responsibility for your misfortune,” he told the victims’ families.
Despite his denials, prosecutors maintained that the attack could not have been carried out alone. “Can you imagine a man, in broad daylight, attacking two potentially armed police officers?” said prosecutor Naima Rudloff.
Aberouz’s lawyers announced plans to appeal the verdict at France’s Court of Cassation, citing a lack of direct evidence and alleging the prosecution benefited from a reversal of the presumption of innocence.
The victims’ family, however, welcomed the court’s decision. Josiane Schneider, mother of Jessica, said the verdict brought closure: “Justice has been done,” she told reporters.
