The special assize court of Paris condemned on appeal Friday, February 17 the Algerian Hamou Benlatreche to 30 years of criminal imprisonment accompanied by a security period of two thirds, for having injured six soldiers in 2017, confirming the verdict of first instance.
The court, which found Hamou Benlatreche guilty of all the charges against him, did not follow the requisitions of the general prosecutor's office, which had demanded the maximum penalty, ie life imprisonment, against the accused.
Permanent ban from French territory
On August 9, 2017, in Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine), driving his VTC, Hamou Benlatreche had mowed down soldiers from the Sentinel mission who were preparing to go on patrol, before fleeing and to be arrested, five hours later, on a highway near Calais (Pas-de-Calais).
Six soldiers were injured in this attack, three of them seriously.
The court presided over by Emmanuelle Bessone, a seasoned magistrate in terrorism cases, accompanied her conviction with a permanent ban from French territory for the accused at the end of his sentence.
At first instance, Mr. Benlatreche, 42, was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment with a two-thirds security period.
"
Thank you Madam President
," said Hamou Benlatreche, in French, when the verdict was announced.