The last time we saw his face was on a stolen photo. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, a three-day beard and the few hairs on the sides of his skull clashed with the elegant look that Redoine Faïd had lugged on TV sets a few years earlier to promote his book. "The writer", a nickname given by the police, had just been arrested in an apartment in his hometown of Creil (Oise) after three months of a run started on July 1, 2018 by a spectacular escape from the prison of Réau (Seine-et-Marne).
A year and a half later, the 47-year-old "king of beauty" is expected this Thursday in the court box of Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais) where he is on appeal with three other people for the robbery of an armored van in March 2011. At first instance, Redoine Faïd was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment for this 2 million euro booty attack which he has always denied. "Our position will be the same," says Me Yasmina Belmokhtar, his lawyer. Redoine Faïd claims that it has nothing to do with this theft. "
Between this robbery and this trial, Faïd changed dimension. Sentenced to 25 years in prison for the attack which cost policewoman Aurélie Fouquet, he became a “particularly watched prisoner” following two incredible escapes. On April 13, 2013, incarcerated in Lille-Séquedin prison, the Creillois made a splash by taking four guards hostage and blasting the doors. Five years later, it was by helicopter, extracted by heavily armed accomplices, that he managed to escape from the Réau prison center.
On the strength of this list of achievements, "Faïd is being watched very closely", blows a security source. In detention, he is subject to a very strict regime: strip search on each trip, visiting room behind a plexiglass window ... A measure that is no longer even imposed on Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the attacks of November 2015. And the organization of his trial will be subject to the same drastic measures.
The surroundings of the courthouse under surveillance
Until March 18, Redoine Faïd must be removed from his cell in Vendin-le-Vieil (Pas-de-Calais) and transferred to the court in Saint-Omer, some 60 km away. The Lille GIGN branch will be responsible for this perilous mission. "Several options are provided for the transfer, said a source close. Depending on weather conditions, traffic, GIGN knows how to adapt. No risk should be taken on this type of detainee. A gendarmerie helicopter could also be mobilized, in particular to open the road and detect a possible ambush.
Hooded, the elite gendarmes responsible for the escort of Redoine Faïd should also be the same throughout the duration of the trial, "in order to be able to detect any change in his behavior," slips the same source. The soldiers were also instructed to "not argue with the detainee. The role of GIGN is to bring him to safety in court, not to make friends. "
Unaccustomed to trials under such tension, the Saint-Omer court benefited from an envelope "of 246,000 euros, in particular to secure jurisdiction", specifies a judicial source. With this sum, the Ministry of Justice notably installed, at the entrance to the court, an X-ray baggage scanner, reinforced doors or bought metal detectors.
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The area around the courthouse will also be under surveillance. Parents of two schools located at the heart of the security perimeter are instructed "to pick up their children on foot, cars are prohibited from entering," said the city of Saint-Omer. The residents of two streets located near the courthouse will be subject to the same constraint and will have to show their feet to return home ...
Possible dismissal
Very sensitive, long anticipated the trial of Redoine Faïd will it only take place? According to his lawyers, the most closely watched detainee in France started on Wednesday, February 19, "a hunger and thirst strike to protest against his conditions of detention," said Yasmina Belmokhtar. He understands his imprisonment, but cannot accept treatment contrary to his dignity and which has not changed since his return to prison. Redoine Faïd also wants to be transferred to Longuenesse prison, closer to the Saint-Omer court in order to facilitate her daily life during the trial. A request which until now has remained a dead letter.
Faced with this situation, Me Yasmina Belmokhtar, Hugues Vigier and Frank Berton will ask this Thursday morning for the postponement of the Creillois trial which “has the right to defend itself in good conditions. However, his state of health, after a week of hunger and thirst strike, may not give him this opportunity. Redoine Faïd could also refuse to be removed from his cell this Thursday morning.
The trial could, moreover, be disrupted by the lawyers' strike, which is joined by the counsel of the robber who also intend to raise a point of procedure in order to question the jurisdiction of the Saint-Omer court in this case. In all cases, the final decision will rest with the president of the Pas-de-Calais assize court.
