Victims of the Strasbourg Christmas market attack were honored on Wednesday, more than four years after this tragedy which killed five people on December 11, 2018. Six national medals of recognition to victims of terrorism were awarded - including one posthumously - by the prefect Josiane Chevalier during a short ceremony at the prefectural hotel.
“
Your country has not forgotten you
,” Josiane Chevalier told the victims who came accompanied by relatives.
She stressed that their voice "
must be heard
" to allow them to "
rebuild
".
healing process
On December 11, 2018, Chérif Chekatt, a 29-year-old repeat offender, with an S for Islamist radicalization, entered the historic center of Strasbourg, armed with a revolver and a knife, where the Christmas market was held.
He had randomly killed five men and wounded 11 people.
Managing to escape, he was killed by the police 48 hours later in a southern district of Strasbourg.
His attack was claimed by the Islamic State group.
In addition to the 5 dead and 11 injured, the Guarantee Fund for Victims of Terrorism (FGTI) has recognized 88 direct victims of the Strasbourg attack, according to the AVA victims' aid association.
This medal, “
it is part of a healing process
”, told AFP Mostafa Salhane, 51, president of AVA.
A taxi driver, he had been taken hostage by Chérif Chekatt and since then has not been able to resume this work: “
it's over for me the taxi, I'm not going to expose myself again.
He added that the tragedy also weighed on his children and his wife who "
are still followed by psychologists
".
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“
We have been waiting for this medal for four years
,” Clarisse Marzouq, who also received a bronze medal for acts of courage and dedication, told AFP.
A security guard in a downtown supermarket, she had protected around sixty people by sheltering them in the store before rescuing victims.
“
What we are waiting for now is the trial.
I hope to have answers
, ”she continued.
The investigation was closed in the fall and the prosecution requested the referral of 5 men to the special Assize Court of Paris.
The trial is expected to be held in late 2023 or early 2024.
