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The Loire-Atlantique Assize Court sentenced three men to 22 years in prison on December 14, 2024 for “violent robbery leading to the death” of Nadir, 18 years old. The fourth defendant was sentenced to 15 years in prison for “complicity in crime, aggravated theft and concealment of criminals”.
It has been four years since Nabila Belhalfaoui waited for the trial aimed at determining the responsibility of four defendants in the death of her 18-year-old son, Nadir. On the evening of August 9, 2020, the high school student's body was discovered in the family apartment, tied up and gagged, with a pillow on his face. According to the autopsy, the young man died as a result of mechanical asphyxia. Furthermore, he allegedly suffered manual strangulation.
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Death of Nadir, 18, tied up and asphyxiated in his bed: four defendants in court
DNA traces found on site and telephone studies allowed investigators to trace back three men, arrested in the following months. 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.
“It won’t be able to give me back Nadir”
On December 14, 2024, the verdict was rendered by the Loire-Atlantique Assize Court, which handed down sentences of 22 years in prison against three of the accused for “robbery with violence resulting in death”. These three men of Algerian nationality were also permanently banned from French territory. The fourth defendant, considered the mastermind of the affair, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for “complicity in crime, aggravated theft and concealment of criminals”. He knew Nadir's family and knew that his father-in-law kept at his home the sum that the defendants tried to steal.
At the end of the hearing, the victim's mother confided her feelings about the verdict to France Blue. “Twenty-two years or fifteen years of criminal imprisonment cannot restore Nadir to me,” she regretted, concluding: “What kills me is knowing in this trial that Nadir suffered. It was a slow death.”
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