One appears marked, the other casual.
But fundamentally, their speeches converge.
"I remade the film many times", explains the first.
"I made sleepless nights ..." said the second.
At the helm of the special assize court, which judges fourteen people for their logistical support for the attacks of January 2015, the respective companions of the Kouachi brothers have certified that they have ignored everything about their deadly projects.
Nothing, they assure, foreshadowed that Chérif and Saïd Kouachi, this morning of January 7, 2015, would take up arms to attack Charlie Hebdo, killing in all thirteen people with the weapon of war.
"When did I miss something important?"
Since when did he have this in his head?
We had plans: to found a family, to move… ”Izzana Hamyd, 40, was the wife of Chérif Kouachi.
Pink tunic and matching scarf, visibly moved, she repeated that she had "confidence" in this man, married seven years earlier.
“There was a lot of love between us, he was a respectful, happy young man.
I can not understand.
"
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Our file on the trial of the January 2015 attacks
Admittedly, the couple had a rigorous practice of Islam - "sectarian", she says today, proscribing for example his presence in the same room as another man.
Certainly, the cartoons of Mohammed published by Charlie Hebdo had “touched” her husband.
Yes, the couple had attended Amedy Coulibaly, author of the bloody hostage-taking of the Hyper Cacher, and his wife Hayat Boumedienne, tried in his absence at this trial.
But "never", repeats Izzana Hamyd, Chérif Kouachi had issued threats in his presence.
"He told me: I'm going to my brother's, I'm going to do the sales"
Long questioned by the police, she did find meager signs of nervousness in her husband.
But those that are reinterpreted after the fact, and ultimately so derisory ... The previous days, she remembers that Chérif Kouachi had had trouble falling asleep and hadn't eaten anything, saying he had a stomach ache.
On January 7, he also appeared to be "on the lookout", watching the window in an unusual way.
Early that morning, Saïd Kouachi took the train from Reims (Marne), where he lived with his partner and his son, to find Chérif.
“He said to me:
I'm going to my brother's, I'm going to do the sales
.
He told me see
you tonight!
», Says Soumya Bouarfa today, in a black and bottle green scarf.
"The 7:12 train?"
He did not take the risk of being late… ”, notes Stéphane Duchemin, one of the judges, surprised that such an explanation did not arouse the suspicions of the young woman.
“But Saïd was very early in the morning!
He hated late mornings, ”she retorts, quite disconcertingly calm.
"It has not escaped you that that day, they did not go to the sales ...", supports the magistrate.
“Yes it's serious, I don't agree with what they did.
It's unfortunate to get there, ”she awkwardly concedes.
“But it's not the same Saïd that I knew.
We did PlayStation and cinema parties, we laughed.
He was gentle, kind, caring, he washed me when I was sick, he carried me to the toilet when I was in a wheelchair, ”explains this woman with multiple sclerosis, who explains that her disabled adult allowance was the only income. of the family.
"I am Madame Kouachi, but I no longer want to bear this name"
"The guns, he bought them with your allowance?"
Asks a lawyer.
“Well no, I was doing the accounts.
And I don't get thousands of euros.
Nothing to report, therefore.
“The day before, we all had gastro at home, he spent the evening going to throw up and me too.
I didn't notice anything special, ”she concludes.
The same lawyer gets annoyed.
“You came to tell us that you practiced a not radical Islam, that your husband was normal, with a normal life.
Ultimately, it is not your husband who suffered from an eye problem (
Editor's note: serious sight problems
).
You were the one who was blind.
"
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“I worked my memory to understand if he had radicalized with me. I didn't see anything, ”the mother of the family still answers, imperturbable, and who has since rebuilt her life. Izzana Hamyd did not succeed. Above all, she would like to turn the page, no longer to be associated with this "monstrous act". “In this matter,” she said, “I became the widow of. I am Madame Kouachi, but I no longer want to bear this name. Of course we were married, of course we loved each other, but my life came to an end when he decided to go out to Paris with his arms. "
