He claimed he was ready to join the jihad, said Majdi Ayari, an 18-year-old Tunisian migrant (…)
On July 31, he made disturbing statements in the middle of the canteen of the Les Moulins hostel where he was staying. The young man described himself as a mujahideen to a psychologist who came to listen to him. “If you talk, I’ll kill you, I’m not afraid of an explosive belt,” he is said to have threatened her (…).
He came to France in summer 2021. He has already been convicted several times by juvenile courts, including in Avignon and Nice for selling drugs.
Investigators found the history of his internet searches on his mobile phone. Not very reassuring on the face of it: information about the forthcoming commemoration of November 11 – which he claimed on the witness stand not to know what it was about – but also searches for tactical equipment via an arms smithy in Nice. Another search for a Glock pistol – a semi-automatic weapon used in particular by gendarmes – but he seemed to be looking for a model with air pressure.
One of his readings, an apocalyptic book in which jihad plays a major role, also raises questions. The young man’s lawyer, Baptiste Bermondy, claims (…) “a young man who goes in all directions, but nothing in this matter allows him to be portrayed as a radicalised person planning an attack”.
Three years in prison without parole were demanded. The court heard the plea of lawyer Bermondy and finally sentenced the young man to 15 months, Nice Matin