Man who helped procure gun used in Strasbourg terror attack jailed for 30 years

A former security guard who helped procure the gun used to kill five people and injure 11 others in a terrorist attack on Strasbourg’s Christmas market in 2018 has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Audrey Mondjehi, 43, was found guilty of a series of terrorism-related charges, including abetting murder in relation to a terrorist plot and associating with terrorist elements, after he helped to find a weapon for Chérif Chekatt, who later opened fire with a 19th-century revolver at the market in the city’s historic centre.

During the 10-minute spree on 11 December 2018, Chekatt attacked passersby with a gun and knife at three different locations in the shadow of the city’s cathedral, where the Christmas market attracts millions of visitors each year.

Chekatt, who had a long criminal record with more than 20 convictions for theft and violence, had spent several spells in jail and was on a watchlist of radicalised former prisoners.

After the attack, he hailed a taxi to the south of the city. After a 48-hour manhunt, he was killed in a shootout with French police.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Strasbourg attack, and a video of Chekatt pledging allegiance to the group was found at his home. But the interior minister at the time, Christophe Castaner, said the jihadist group was taking credit for an attack it had not planned.

The six-week trial in Paris is the latest legal process over the jihadist attacks that have hit France since 2015, with most of those in the dock accused of complicity because the actual perpetrators were killed while carrying out their attacks.

Mondjehi described himself in court as a former security guard who had also made rap music. He had a long history of criminal convictions and prison sentences including for armed robbery and domestic violence.

He had first met Chekatt in jail. Years later, when they were out of prison, Chekatt had come to him and asked him to help procure a weapon.

The head judge said Mondjehi had been found guilty because he had been “very close” to Chekatt and “knew of his violent radicalism”.

He was involved every step of the way, the prosecution said, detailing an “intense” relationship with Chekatt in the months leading up to the attack.

In court, Mondjehi’s lawyers accepted he had helped supply the weapon but said he was unaware of Chekatt’s plans. They said he should therefore not have been convicted of terrorism charges, only “criminal conspiracy”.

“I think deeply and feel a lot of sadness for all the victims, all my life I will regret what happened,” Mondjehi told the court on Thursday in his final statement before the verdict. “I would never have thought that [Chekatt] would have done that, I never thought that he was radicalised.”

Paul Latouche, a lawyer for several survivors, said: “With this decision, the special court in Paris recognises that the terrorist attack of 11 December 2018 was not the act of one lone man.

“The theory of a lone wolf has been discarded. The court has recognised that the principal accused could not have been unaware of Chekatt’s terrorist project and provided him with vital help.”

Two other men were found guilty on criminal conspiracy charges for their role in supplying weapons: Christian Hoffmann, an unemployed mechanic, and Frédéric Bodein, who bought and sold used cars.

They were given jail sentences but had already served the time in prison on remand. Another man, Stéphane Bodein, was acquitted after the judge decided he had not had “any active participation”.

A fifth defendant, aged 83, may be tried at a later date on charges of selling Mondjehi and Chekatt the murder weapon hours before the attack. But a medical examination found his health was not compatible with taking part in the same trial.

Source » theguardian.com