Acquitted twice. This Friday, Brahim A., a 34-year-old former legionnaire, once again convinced the jurors. Acquitted at first instance in Paris two years ago, this man prosecuted for "willful violence with a weapon resulting in death without intention of giving it" had the same favorable outcome at the end of his appeal trial which took place. held this week in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis). The young man was on trial for having killed a 28-year-old man who had attacked him on May 3, 2014 in front of the Gare du Nord (Paris X). Self-defense, considered the Assize Court of Appeal. While the Advocate General had requested a five-year suspended prison sentence, here is the former military man definitively cleared.
The evening of the facts, around 12:30 am, Khaled C., already convicted of infringement of the legislation on narcotics and willful violence, approaches the legionnaire and his girlfriend to sell them drugs or annoy the young woman. Faced with the refusal of the soldier, the man, alcoholic and under the influence of cannabis, grabs a butterfly knife and pierces his left hand. The ex-soldier of the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment then manages to turn the weapon against the aggressor, injuring him in the arm and thigh. The blade reaches the femoral artery. “I'm sorry, I never wanted it to be like this. But in vain I go over the scene dozens of times in my head, I do not see how I could have done otherwise ”, explained Brahim A. during his first trial. At the time,the Paris Assize Court considered that he had not deliberately carried the stab wounds, including the one fatal to his victim.
For the court, an "unjustified attack" and a "real danger"
This time, even if the result is the same - the acquittal - the reasoning of the jurors was different since self-defense was retained. "The court and the jury were convinced that the insistence of Khaled C., his drunkenness and his impulsiveness are directly at the origin of a situation which degenerated", details the motivation sheet which we have read. The court evokes an “unjustified attack” and a “real danger” taking into account the weapon employed and the wound inflicted on Brahim A. “In such a context the fact of seizing the weapon of its attacker to seek to defend oneself or even to retaliate in order to incapacitate a dangerous individual appears perfectly justified and as being an immediate and necessary measure to put an end to a danger both for himself and for his companion ”,continues the court in its motivations by evoking a reaction "in no way disproportionate". The court finally ruled that the injury which claimed the life of Khaled C. was "the result of an unfortunate gesture following the knee strikes by the victim. "
Reconverted into mechanics, Brahim A. is now the father of two children. "We are satisfied that justice has been served," indicate his lawyers, Mes Henri de Beauregard and Matthieu Brochier. Self-defense is often pleaded but very rarely retained. However, if there was one case where it deserved to be retained, it is this one. Our client was marked by what happened. However, it is obviously not a question of claiming victory. A man has died and we are shocked at how it turned out. For his part, Me Philippe Geny-Santoni, the lawyer for the civil parties, does not hide his bitterness. "We are very unhappy, in particular because many material elements appeared at the hearing were not retained in the motivation sheet," he laments.In any case, this case was very poorly educated and we can only regret that it was tried on appeal seven years after the fact. "