The Val-d'Oise Assize Court delivered its verdict Friday evening after more than four hours of deliberation. She had imposed a sentence of 18 years of criminal imprisonment on Mohamed B., aged 25, for the murder of Brandon M., in Garges-lès-Gonesse. The public prosecutor had requested 20. His lawyers appealed this decision, which will lead to a new trial.
The events took place on April 20, 2022, in front of the Arc-en-ciel shopping center. The accused and the victim had deteriorated relations. According to the prosecution, Mohamed B. could not have tolerated the latter being in a relationship with his sister. Several testimonies indicated that the fact that Brandon M. was black posed a problem for him. During the trial, several of the accused's sisters described him as seeking to control how they dated, dressed and went out, including through violence. Mohamed B. refuted any racism indicating that it was the few offenses in which Brandon had committed which disqualified him in his eyes from dating his sister.
This April 20, 2022, it was Brandon M. who, just after greeting Mohamed B., gave him a first punch. The accused responds. The two men are separated for a time by witnesses. Then, while Brandon M. returns to the charge, Mohamed B. takes out a knife and plants it in the chest of his opponent with a gesture so furtive that it will take several seconds for the victim and the other protagonists to understand what is happening. happened.
Mohamed B.'s lawyers pleaded for the facts of murder to be reclassified as violence with a weapon leading to death without intention of causing it. However, the court found that he had instead deliberately targeted the victim's heart. “The defense is not satisfied because, with regard to the qualification, neither the forensic expertise nor the report of the director of investigation were able to establish homicidal intent”, underlines Me Adrien Gabeaud. He regrets that the judgment does not mention the fact that it was the victim who struck the first blow. “We hope that the Court of Appeal refrains from proceeding by deduction and that it is more rigorous in terms of motivation,” he adds.
“The qualification adopted was perfectly suited to the situation,” said Hosni Maati, lawyer for the family of Brandon M. and several sisters of Mohamed B., also a civil party in this case. He says he is ready to continue fighting to defend their interests. “We await the future with great serenity,” he assures us.
