He rarely appears in public, and his now white hair is noticeable, but one can guess under the humble gaze an intact determination.
This Thursday, Omar Raddad, 59, appeared at the Cour de Cassation of the Paris courthouse, hoping to initiate a review of his 1994 trial, after which he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the murder of Ghislaine Marchal.
Read alsoThe case of Omar Raddad re-examined by the justice
After a hearing of nearly three hours, the man came out of the camera accompanied by his lawyer, Sylvie Noachovitch. "
We were heard with Omar Raddad by the investigating committee of the Court of Revision and we calmly await the decision which will be rendered on December 16,
" said the lawyer, questioned by the press. If a first request for revision had been rejected in 2002 (Me Jacques Vergès then defended the file), Sylvie Noachovitch announces this time to be based on "
new crucial, fundamental elements, which give rise to doubts about his guilt
". Among these, four different traces of human DNA on seals, including the doors on which the inscriptions "
Omar killed me
" (sic) and "
Omar
had been written to me in letters of blood.
One of the DNA traces, she continues, "
is mixed with the victim's blood, and therefore cannot be pollution DNA
", that is to say deposited after the crime.
Omar Raddad was sentenced to 18 years in prison, then partially pardoned by Jacques Chirac, spending a total of more than seven years in prison.
"He keeps confidence in Justice"
At
Le Figaro
, his lawyer said to keep a "
positive impression of this first meeting
". “
I know you never know, and I'm not in the place of magistrates. But we had a respectful, attentive audience. There was real listening. And Omar Raddad was able to speak, too. On his suffering, on his hopes. He maintains confidence in Justice, in the Court of Revision
”. Despite the numerous requests from journalists all along the way out of the court, he did not wish to speak publicly.
At his side also, the writer Jean-Marie Rouart and the former magistrate and deputy (LR) Georges Fenech, now a lawyer. The latter had carried the law of 2014 relaxing the review of criminal trials, and in particular making it possible to request investigations from the prosecution after a conviction. "
This law comes to life with the Omar Raddad file
", he explained, confident "
at the time having thought about this file throughout the parliamentary work
" which had resulted in a text voted unanimously . Finally, Jean-Marie Rouart, support of Omar Raddad since his trial in 1994, reiterated his "
admiration for this man, who has been fighting for 30 years for his acquittal, for his innocence and his honor.
".
On December 16, the investigating committee will take a major decision, either by rejecting the request, or by requesting new investigations, or by convening the Court of Revision.
