They were to be tried immediately on December 19, but their behavior forced the court to postpone the case until Thursday.
At the time, the two defendants had self-harmed just before the hearing, one by banging his head against the walls, the other by pretending to cut his throat and the veins in his wrist with the closure of his coat.
They had arrived stained with blood, one wearing a motorcycle helmet, the other with a protective helmet, in order to protect them from themselves: the two men threatened to commit suicide if they went detention.
A month later, these two Pakistani nationals were tried and convicted this Thursday by the Évry-Courcouronnes criminal court for acts of aiding the illegal entry, movement and stay of foreigners.
Saddam H., 25, was sentenced to three years in prison with continued detention and permanent ban from French territory, which is in addition to his ban from Italian territory.
Naveed A., 22, was sentenced to two years in prison with continued detention and banned from entering the country for five years.
Thirteen illegal immigrants in a van
On December 13, the two men were spotted by police officers in Grigny while they were busy around the doors of a van.
At the sight of the officials, they fled.
In the van, the police discovered 13 illegal immigrants from India and Pakistan.
The latter had paid more than 10,000 euros to arrive in Europe, including 700 to 1,000 euros for this trip in a van.
They had been taken in the vehicle, without being able to sit down, without food or water, from the Franco-Italian border.
“We were starting to run out of oxygen,” one of them testified.
They were then to continue their journey towards Portugal, Spain… A few hours later, the two smugglers returned to the scene and were arrested.
Also read: Illegal immigration in Île-de-France: smugglers charged up to 15,000 euros for the European dream
At the hearing, they denied the facts, despite numerous evidence.
Saddam H.'s phone went from Grigny to the Franco-Italian border on December 2 and 13, which the latter was unable to explain.
Concerning the messages he had received asking him how to cross borders discreetly, the asylum documents found on his cell phone... he simply said that he could neither read nor write.
Saddam H. had already been sentenced in Grenoble (Isère) last June for these same acts.
As for Naveed A., filmed by video surveillance with his partner, he claimed that they did not know each other.
The keys to the van were found in his pocket… but it was a friend who put them in his jacket, he tries in court.
The latter had already been convicted in Türkiye for similar acts.
He left his box towards the prison, shouting.