Feminicide of Mérignac: the worrying failures in the judicial follow-up of the husband

A programmed killing, executed with coldness, and almost claimed.

During a press conference this Thursday, the prosecutor of Bordeaux, Frédérique Porterie unveiled the first elements of the investigation into the murder of Chahinez, this 31-year-old mother, burned alive Tuesday evening May 4 on a sidewalk de Mérignac (Gironde) and for which her husband Mounir B. was indicted for intentional homicide by spouse.

From the few confidences he gave, it appears that this 44-year-old Franco-Algerian "stashed" all day Tuesday near the pavilion where his wife lived, the two children she had from a first union. , and their five-year-old son.

At the end of the afternoon, equipped with a hunting rifle, a gas pistol and a belt of cartridges - weapons which he claims to have bought from "two illegal immigrants in town" - he gave him fired two bullets, one in each thigh.

He wanted to "burn her a little"

He then aimed at a neighbor who tried to intervene, took a can of gasoline from his vehicle, sprayed Chahinez's head, then Chahinez's body, before immolating her while she was alive.

Mounir B. would then have joined the family pavilion "in small strides" before setting the building on fire.

The man justified his gesture by the conviction that Chahinez had a lover and would have "decided to punish her for the suffering endured", without wanting to kill her but "to burn her a little", in his words.

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Feminicide in Mérignac: the suspect said he wanted to "punish" the victim

A macabre scenario which however raises the question of a dysfunction in the monitoring of this man, sentenced in June 2020 for recurrent violence against his wife, whom he was prohibited from approaching and, yet, assaulted again on March 15 . In this regard, the Ministries of Justice and the Interior launched an inspection mission on Thursday, which will notably study the conditions for his release and his follow-up.

At the hearing of June 25, 2020, Mounir B. had indeed received a sentence of eighteen months in prison, nine of which were suspended.

Immediately imprisoned, he had benefited, from October 5, of an external placement measure in an associative structure to carry out the remainder of his sentence under judicial supervision.

Then, from December 9, he said he lived in Pessac, with his sister, ten kilometers from the family home.

Read alsoWoman burned alive by her ex-partner in Mérignac: "She knew what was going to happen to her"

From the point of view of the prison and probation monitoring services (SPIP), Mounir B. seems to follow his obligations of care and professional activity. But on Monday March 15, his anger, his hatred and his violence erupted for the first time. The scene takes place in the parking lot of a supermarket near the family home, where he tries to force Chahinez into his vehicle, pulls on his scarf and almost strangles him. Before being put to flight by the intervention of passers-by, Mounir B. struck his wife two more punches, who filed a complaint the next day.

The searches then carried out by the departmental security of Gironde to find the aggressor yielded nothing.

“The colleagues went to the address of Pessac, where he was supposed to be domiciled,” explains Eric Marrocq, regional secretary of the Alliance union.

However, according to his sister and his brother-in-law, Mounir B. did not live there.

He would hardly ever have set foot there ... Moreover, the police would not have had any telephone number to reach him.

A research sheet is then sent around March 20 to all police stations in France.

“When I hear today that neighbors saw him recently prowling in the neighborhood, it's a pity that they did not call the police”, continues Eric Marrocq.

"No one has measured the exceptional gravity of the situation"

"The police were content to apply a protocol: we knock on the door, he is not there ... We can therefore be the victim of violence in recidivism, file a complaint for an attempted kidnapping against a man who is prohibited. approach you, and no protection is in place? protests Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the Women's Foundation. These men are manipulators and liars, but they are not big bandits: they can be found, as long as they are a priority. "

“Nobody has measured the exceptional gravity of the situation, with undoubtedly communication failures between the police and the justice system, abounds Yael Mellul, former lawyer, founder of the association Femme & Libre.

The entourage also has its responsibility: these men, they must be stopped sooner!

Acts of violence are never isolated.

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"The suspended prison sentences and the sentence adjustments granted to violent spouses contribute to their feeling of impunity," also observes Me Pauline Rongier, lawyer specializing in supporting female victims.

This is reinforced by the authorities' lack of reaction when removal obligations are not respected.

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To read also Feminicides: "For the moment, the authors are all-powerful"

Even more serious, the information on the "disappearance" of Mounir B. apparently never circulated between the departmental security, police side, and the penitentiary services of follow-up and integration of the Gironde (SPIP) , justice side. Otherwise, how to explain that Mounir B. was able to go to two SPIP meetings, March 26 and April 14, as specified by the prosecutor of the Republic of Bordeaux, without ever being worried?

"The police and the prison administration, these are two worlds that never speak to each other, it is normal that this kind of dramatic situation happens one day", chokes a police source. “Not quite,” retorts a member of SPIP Gironde. The police can always send a request to the prosecution so that a requisition can be sent to our services. Then, it is up to the judge of freedoms and detention to take a decision to revoke a suspension, for example. Who knew what and when? The investigation launched this Thursday by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior should make it possible to establish the responsibilities of each. Its conclusions are expected on May 11.