Twenty men are accused of committing one of Europe’s worst peacetime attacks. A special court was constructed to house the ten-month trial, the longest in modern French history.
On Wednesday evening in Paris, the trial of twenty men accused of carrying out one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Europe during times of peace is expected to conclude.
On November 13, 2015, the men, all of whom are suspected Islamic State terrorists, are accused of killing 130 people and injuring hundreds more in coordinated attacks.
Minutes apart, they detonated bombs at the Stade de France and the Bataclan concert hall and opened fire on diners in restaurants across the capital of France.
Sixteen are being tried in absentia, presumed dead or missing after fighting for the Islamic State in Syria.
For the ten-month trial, the largest in modern French history, a special, secure court was constructed.
Five judges listened to testimony from more than 2,000 witnesses, including more than a million pages of evidence, 300 attorneys, and testimony from European counter-terrorism personnel.
Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving member of the group that carried out the attacks, is the main suspect; the others are accused of aiding in the planning of the attacks.
Brahim, Abdeslam’s brother, was also involved in the attacks, but he blew himself up the night after shooting and killing young Parisians in cafés.
The suspect’s change of heart was motivated by “humanity, not fear.
Abdeslam, 32, defiantly identified himself as an “Islamic State fighter” at the beginning of his trial in November 2021, but in recent weeks, as the trial has come to a close, he has asked for forgiveness and claimed he discarded his suicide vest to prevent more deaths.
“I enter the café, order a drink, look around, and tell myself, ‘No, I’m not going to do it,'” he told the court.
“I changed my mind out of compassion, not out of fear.”
As the trial concluded on Monday, he apologized to the victims, claiming he was not a murderer.
Nonetheless, according to French police and prosecution attorneys, his suicide belt was found to be defective, which provides a more plausible explanation for why he did not detonate it.
Abdeslam, a French national who was born in Belgium and has Moroccan ancestry, went on the run for four months before being apprehended in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek, close to his family’s residence.
If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Mohamed Abrini, a close friend of Abdeslam and co-defendant, is accused of providing weapons and logistical support.
Abrini participated in suicide bombings in Brussels in 2016, but he now regrets his participation.
He told the court, “I’ve seen the victims’ faces, and I’m aware that what happened is disgusting.”
They began spraying bullets everywhere.
Relatives of the deceased and witnesses to the attacks have endured months of harrowing testimony in the hopes of discovering the truth and obtaining justice.
One of them, Arthur Denouveaux, a survivor of the Bataclan attack, told that the therapy has helped him.
“Testifying in front of the court and hearing all of the victims’ testimonies have been very helpful because I’ve realized I was not alone, which I already knew, but it’s different to say it publicly,” he explained.
“Then, this was broadcast throughout France. And perhaps all over the world, this has been a powerful message of how tough we were, but how much we still struggled.
“In my memory, when the terrorists entered, there was a great deal of gunfire followed by an extended period of silence before they fired again.
“And that seemed to contradict everything I read about it. However, it was true. They began spraying the area with bullets.”
“Abdeslam is extremely apologetic, but I believe he is apologizing to himself. He is angry with himself for getting himself into that situation, or for not going all the way and landing in that middle ground where he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.”
