It was the big concern: Redoine Faïd was he going to be present at the opening of his trial? The robber was to be tried on appeal from this Thursday and for three weeks before the assizes of Pas-de-Calais, in Saint-Omer. He is accused of having robbed with several accomplices a van carrying cash near Arras, in 2011. At first instance, he had been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
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At the opening of the debates, the president Sylvie Karas could only note his absence in the box of the accused: Redoine Faïd refused to be extracted from his cell. "I don't think he is free ... except escape," she said with irony. The accused is the author of two spectacular escapes which led the authorities to take exceptional security measures around this trial.
The president therefore sent a bailiff to the Vendin-le-Veil prison, an hour's drive away, where the applicant is detained, to summon him to appear. The hearing was immediately suspended, pending his return. If the person persists in refusing to appear before the court, the President may order that he be forcibly taken into the courtroom. She may also choose to continue the hearing without him. However, Redoine Faïd will have to be summoned to appear each morning, which could disrupt the calendar of debates.
Hunger-strike
Redoine Faïd began a hunger and thirst strike on February 20, a week before the start of her trial. He denounces the drastic conditions of detention which are imposed on him in the ultra-secure prison of Vendin-le-Viel. He also considers that he should have been transferred to a prison closer to Saint-Omer, and thus avoid the two hours of daily commute between his cell and the courtroom.
His lawyers are demanding that the trial be postponed. Near Le Figaro , Me Yasmina Belmokthar explained on Wednesday that she feared that her client's state of health "would not allow her to be able to express herself" . In addition to these considerations, the advice of the famous robber considers that the Assize Court of Saint-Omer did not have the skills to try cases of organized crime. Finally, they intended to assert their right to strike, joining the national movement of lawyers against the pension reform. If the trial is not postponed, we could therefore end up with a hearing without the main accused and his lawyers.