the essential
Four men aged 24 to 63 are being tried by the Loire-Atlantique Assize Court from this Friday, December 6, 2024, until December 13, for the violent robbery which led to the death of Nadir Marouf.
The victim’s body was discovered by one of her friends on the evening of August 9, 2020 in the family apartment, in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, near Nantes, reports West France. The door was ajar, with no sign of forced entry. In the bedroom, the 18-year-old high school student lay bound and gagged, with a pillow over his face.
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Alerted by the witness, emergency services noted the death. According to the autopsy, the young man died as a result of mechanical asphyxia. Furthermore, he allegedly suffered manual strangulation. According to investigators, the four defendants went to the victim’s home with the aim of stealing the sum of 3,700 euros in cash. It was the money from the quest for the Aïcha mosque in Nantes, the victim’s father being the deputy treasurer of the cultural association managing the place of worship.
The burglary, ordered by a mosque volunteer?
Between 2020 and 2021, three of the four defendants were arrested and incarcerated by the courts. All were identified as homeless. One of them already had 5 convictions on his criminal record for carrying a category D bladed weapon and aggravated theft. In addition to the attempted theft, the first three defendants were allegedly guilty of kidnapping and aggravated violence against the young man. As for their responsibility in the death of the high school student, it must be determined by the trial. During the investigation, everyone admitted to having committed an attempted theft at the victim’s home, but denied the rest of the facts.
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The fourth defendant is considered the central figure of the trial. This 63-year-old man, who was a volunteer at the Aïcha Mosque, is presented by the civil party as the mastermind of the burglary. He was imprisoned for two years, then released under judicial supervision, and is appearing today for “complicity” and “evading a criminal from arrest or search”.
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