Tone up.
The chair of the immediate appearance hearing did not obtain any answers to her questions.
Ahmad, a 30-year-old Egyptian, tries once again to clear customs.
No, he says, he did not sexually assault a young woman on a FlixBus connecting Brussels to Paris on the night of Friday February 2 to Saturday February 3 or at least he does not remember.
He had just placed his head on the shoulder of this traveler...
A risky defense which did not hit the mark.
The thirty-year-old who has no criminal record receives 18 months in prison, 8 of which are suspended.
A committal warrant was issued against him, so he has been sleeping in his cell since Monday evening.
In front of the police and before the magistrates he repeated that he did not know very well why he had taken this bus to Paris since he lives in the Belgian capital.
“I had been drinking alcohol and taking drugs,” he explains.
I realized I was on this bus halfway through.”
He claims to have apologized for putting his head on the young woman's shoulder.
“He took advantage of the victim’s vulnerability and acted as a predator”
It's bad enough except that there was also a hand on the thigh, an attempt to put the seat in the "lying" position, kisses and other gestures.
During this nighttime journey, the young woman managed to send text messages as cries for help to her boyfriend who gave her advice on how to get the unwanted traveler back.
Also read: Hands on buttocks, rubbing, caresses… An alarming note on the daily lives of women in transport
“He felt entitled,” points out the prosecutor.
He took advantage of the victim’s vulnerability and acted as a predator.”
The defense's response?
A strange pleading in which Me Saïda Dridi, the defendant's lawyer, insidiously attempts to blame the victim.
Anthology: “She is a woman who is still 24 years old and who does not cry out for help”;
“we have no witnesses apart from the boyfriend who is acting smart via SMS”;
“We know nothing about this young woman’s life, why didn’t she come to this hearing?
".
The answer to this last question had been given a few minutes earlier by Me Élise Guyon as a civil party: “She is horrified, she is ashamed of what happened”.