Sonia Mejri allegedly held the key to the apartment where the teenager was being held and carried a weapon to dissuade her from fleeing. Sonia Mejri denies this and presented herself to investigators as a “submissive woman” to her husband. During one of her ten interrogations, she also assured that she had been “disappointed” by the Islamic State. Her lawyer, Nabil Boudi, has indicated his intention to appeal the referral order.
Other files in the hands of the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office
Sonia Mejri’s ex-husband, Abdelnasser Benyoucef, is considered one of the creators of the Islamic State’s external operations cell. Franco-Algerian, he had already been convicted in France for the failed attack in Villejuif in 2015. Presumed dead in 2016, he is nevertheless the subject of an arrest warrant and will be tried in his absence, in particular for genocide, crimes against humanity or leading a criminal terrorist association.
The victim, now 25, claimed to have been held captive for over a month in the spring of 2015. She was not allowed to eat, drink or shower without Sonia Mejri’s permission. Mejri, who testified at the Charlie Hebdo attack trial, is also accused of assaulting her and of knowing that her husband was raping her.
Several sources close to the case, however, believe that the strength of the evidence in the accusations remains limited. For Romain Ruiz, the lawyer for the young Yazidi woman, the upcoming trial should lead to “the creation of a compensation fund for victims of crimes against humanity.” In addition to Sonia Mejri, at least two women, among the “returnees” prosecuted in France, have also been indicted on charges relating to crimes against humanity.
