The special assize court of Paris judging on appeal was once again more lenient than the prosecutor's office by confirming Friday the judgment of first instance which sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment, with a period of safety of two-thirds, the "repentant" Kevin Guiavarch, French pioneer of jihadism.
His wife Salma O., who appeared free, was sentenced to 6 years in prison, also as in the first instance, which she will be able to perform at home under an electronic bracelet because of her "reintegration efforts". His sentence is accompanied by a socio-judicial follow-up measure of 5 years. These sentences, upheld by the Court of Appeal, were deemed insufficient by the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office (Pnat), which had appealed to review their duration.
During his closing arguments on Friday, the attorney general had requested 18 years of imprisonment with a two-thirds safety period against Kevin Guiavarch (as during the trial in first instance) and 12 years of imprisonment against his wife (against 14 years during the trial of first instance) with a socio-judicial follow-up of five years. "The guilt of the accused is no longer in debate today," recalled the attorney general.
Not elite soldiers
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Society needs time" to "trust" the accused, he said before conceding that the two accused were not among the "elite soldiers" of the Islamic State organization and had not participated in abuses attributed to the jihadist organization. Kevin Guiavarch is "neither a fanatic nor an enlightened", acknowledged the attorney general but, he insisted, "it is the sentence that marks the gravity of the facts committed".
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We must not minimize" the role of Salma O., he also stressed while welcoming the "links" she has been able to renew with her children (born during the couple's stay in Syria) and her "resumption of activity" professional. "Give me back the chance you gave me by allowing me to return to a job and my job as a mother," Salma O. asked the court before she retired to deliberate. In issuing its verdict, the Special Assize Court of Appeal praised Salma O.'s efforts to reintegrate into society.
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Allegiance to ISIS in 2013
Kevin Guiavarch, 30, and Salma O., 41, were among the first French to reach Syria in early 2013 even before the official birth of the Islamic State (IS) organization. Having pledged allegiance to IS in June 2013, Kevin Guiavarch maintained that he had only been a "stretcher-bearer" or "nurse", admitting to having participated only in checkpoint surveillance even though he posted on Facebook photos of himself (and Salma) in fatigues and weapons, headband of martyrs on the forehead.
In the area, he had brought from France three young women, sometimes with their children, to marry them. "The polygamy permitted by Islam" was one of the reasons for his commitment, he acknowledged. He had left Syria with his extended family and six children in June 2016. Arrested in Turkey and handed over to the French authorities, he has been imprisoned since 2017.
For the attorney general, the departure from Syria was "not an awareness of what is" IS but was "opportunism" while the organization suffered setbacks on the ground. In rendering her verdict, the president of the special assize court of appeal, Emmanuelle Bessone recalled that Kevin Guiavarch had "fought in the area but not all the time". "The duration (of presence) in the area does not correspond to your commitment" alongside IS, she said.
