Crépol murder: 11 young men committed to trial for aggravated homicide with racist motive
Nearly three years after the death of Thomas Perotto, 11 young men are committed to stand trial before the assize court of the Drôme. The aggravating circumstance of racism is upheld for all.
Eleven defendants before the juvenile assize court of the Drôme
Nearly three years after the tragedy in Crépol, the two investigating judges in charge of the case delivered their indictment order on Friday 25 September, according to ledauphine.com. They decided to commit 11 young men before the juvenile assize court of the Drôme, one of whom was a minor at the time of the events. They will face charges of the murder of Thomas Perotto and attempted murder of three other participants at the dance.
A twelfth defendant is committed for voluntary violence with the use of a firearm as a repeat offence. Two other individuals under investigation benefited from a dismissal.
For all the defendants, the investigating magistrates upheld the aggravating circumstance of racism targeting the white race and the French nation. They rely on statements from "19 direct witnesses as well as one individual under investigation", which refer to remarks damaging to the honour of white persons and those belonging to the French nation, "made before, during or following the commission of the acts of violence".
The "wall of silence" denounced by judges
The investigation did not make it possible to identify the person responsible for the knife blows. The judges emphasise the complexity of the case, linked to the nature of the events — a scene of collective violence involving a large number of participants. They explicitly point to the "wall of silence" observed by those under investigation: "both the examination of certain mobile telephones and telephone interceptions demonstrated that some of them were in possession of information about the course of events or the perpetrators of the acts, information which they took care to conceal".
Defence contests and appeals
Several defence lawyers contest in particular the qualification of the aggravating circumstance of racism. They indicated to the Dauphiné Libéré that they have appealed against this order.
For murder and attempted murder aggravated by racism, adult defendants face life imprisonment.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)