The man who overthrew a group of soldiers in Levallois in 2017, injuring six of them, is on trial from this Monday in Paris for "
attempted assassinations on people holding public authority in connection with a company terrorist
”.
Read alsoFaced with Islamist terrorism, "strike hard and fast, that's what the living and dead are calling for"
The accused, Hamou Benlatreche, has always maintained that he had suffered from discomfort and had lost control of his vehicle. But for the prosecution as for the civil parties, the facts, which occurred in the midst of a wave of jihadist attacks in France, bear the mark of the attacks recommended by the Islamic State (IS) group. On August 9, 2017, this 36-year-old Algerian employed by a VTC company, injured six soldiers of Operation Sentinel, three of them seriously, by rushing at them while driving his car in front of their local in Levallois-Perret (Hauts- de-Seine), before fleeing.
The vehicle, which can be geolocated, was intercepted five hours later on the A16 motorway near Calais (Nord). Its driver had been seriously injured by gunshots when he refused to comply. Now 41 years old, in a wheelchair since his spinal injury during his arrest, the accused will appear for two weeks before a specially composed assize court. The account of the victims and direct witnesses, the analysis of the video surveillance and two medical examinations make "
the scene incompatible with the scenario proposed
" by the accused - a loss of consciousness during which his foot would have kept pressed on the pedal. acceleration -, according to the final indictment delivered in December 2020.
In this document, which AFP was aware of, the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office (Pnat) considered that the facts were "
not only of a proven intentional character
", Hamou Benlatreche having carried out spotting on the spot three days before the attack, but were "
associated with the will to kill, and this within the framework of a terrorist project
".
The accused was not known for religious radicalization, but examination of the contents of his two phones revealed an interest in ISIS and inclinations to leave for Syria.
"
Logic recommended by the IS
"
Also indicted for criminal conspiracy, Hamou Benlatreche was dismissed on this ground, in accordance with the demands of the Pnat who considered that he had not received help in his preparation for the attack. . But by choosing to attack the military, the Algerian "
fits into the logic of the attacks recommended by the Islamic State
", said AFP Thibault de Montbrial, one of the lawyers of the Federation. National Victims of Attacks (Fenvac), civil party in the trial.
"
His denials are not at all credible
", especially in view of his flight after the fact, he said. Contacted to know if the accused would maintain this line of defense at the hearing, his lawyer could not be reached. Without a criminal record at the time of his arrest, Hamou Benlatreche has since been the subject of two sentences of eight and six months' imprisonment for assaulting guards while in detention.
The Levallois attack had revived the debate on Operation Sentinel, which has mobilized thousands of soldiers permanently since 2015, some experts believing that these patrols are now mainly "
targets
".
It intervened in a climate of maximum alert, while France had been the target since 2015 of the most deadly wave of jihadist attacks ever committed on its soil.
A ram vehicle was used in some of them, such as the one in Nice on July 14, 2016, which left 86 dead and 450 injured.
Read alsoHow in 40 years France has become a target of Islamist terrorism
Barely a week after the Levallois attack, this same modus operandi will be used in Barcelona, when a young Moroccan driving a van rushed into the crowd on the tourist avenue of the Ramblas, killing a total of 16 and more than 120 injured.
