The Colmar Assize Court found Baghdad Benine guilty of attempted armed robbery this Friday, June 19, after two days of trial. The cousin of Chérif Chekatt, the terrorist who committed the Strasbourg attack, is thus sentenced to eight years of imprisonment.
His presence haunted the Colmar criminal court for two days. Although dead since 2018, shot by the police, Chérif Chekatt, the author of the attack on the Strasbourg Christmas market, was at the heart of the debates in the trial of his cousin, Baghdad Benine, on June 18 and 19.
The 38-year-old man was on trial for attempted armed robbery, a crime punishable by 20 years in prison. In accordance with the requisitions of the attorney general, he received eight years of imprisonment. However, during the hearing, he constantly denied… Denying having committed this robbery, denying being close to Chérif Chekatt and even being his cousin.
The facts date back to the night of December 7 to 8, 2018, three days before the Christmas market attack. Chérif Chekatt, the only point common to all the statements, including that of the accused, went with an accomplice to the Sélestat home of a man called “Frigo”, known to the police for cases linked to narcotics. They allegedly planned to extract money from him. His family is wealthy, owner of several temp agencies, restaurants and bars in Strasbourg and Germany.
The men, hooded, arrive on foot at the scene and remain hidden in the darkness. Three minutes after their arrival, the mother and half-sister of “Frigo”, who were returning from Strasbourg by car, entered their garage. One of them pointed a handgun at the two women and ordered them to get out of the vehicle. At the wheel, the sister of “Frigo”, then 8 months pregnant, turned on the gas back before the garage door closed and managed to escape.
For the attorney general, this is not a simple aborted burglary. “What the video surveillance tells us is that these are two men waiting.” But why wait for the inhabitants of a house when we know it is empty? Why not just “break a window” ? “Because we are aiming for something else, something more serious,” she supposes.
Despite a complaint two days after the events, the investigators were contacted quite late, in April 2020. The telephone boundary data is no longer usable… except that the individuals linked to the case were all also linked, directly or indirectly, to that of the attack on Christmas market. Audrey Mondjehi (sentenced on April 17 to 30 years in prison for having provided the murder weapon to Chérif Chékatt), “Frigo”, a man called “Flunch” and Baghdad Benine were all placed in police custody after the events. The latter’s girlfriend had also been heard.
I am not a terrorist!
Baghdad Benine, accused of attempted robbery
“For me, the two files are extremely linked”, testifies a former investigator from the anti-terrorist brigade by videoconference. “They are the same actors, the same conditions of place and time.” Most of the elements included in the robbery file come from the investigation into the attack.
Audrey Mondjehi is the first to point the finger at Chérif Chekatt, who allegedly confessed to her a few hours before the attack. In the night, after learning of the massacre committed by his friend, he changes his name to “Fridge”. And that of the famous cousin, Baghdad Benine. In any case, that’s what “Frigo” says.
Audrey Mondjehi denied for years having implicated Benine. But, to everyone’s surprise, he changed his statement during the hearing. “It’s not revenge, but because of this anger, I took 30 years”, shouts Audrey Mondjehi behind her screen, from the Le Mans prison. “Sois un homme, grosse merde! Stop lying!”
And [Chérif Chekatt] had been caught at the time, it would not have cost so many lives.
Victim of attempted theft
The president of the court, the general counsel, the defense lawyer and that of the civil party, all strive to remind us that the attack on the Christmas market cannot be retried here. This is without counting the statements of the accused and the witnesses.
When asked about his responsibility in the robbery, Baghdad Benine exclaims: “All my life I’ve done stupid things, but you can’t put that on me [sur le dos]I’m not a terrorist!” The argument is repeated several times, in different forms. He is desperate to put distance between himself and the man he refuses to still call his cousin.
On the side of the victims, there is also an obvious link with the tragedy of December 11, 2018. On the evening of the robbery, the Sélestat police did not carry out a technical or scientific report and were content to draw up a guideline. At the helm, the sister of “Frigo” regrets it: “And [Chérif Chekatt] had been caught at the time, when it happened to us, it wouldn’t have cost so many people their lives after that.”
Faced with Mondjehi’s rage and the consistent statements of several witnesses, Baghdad Benine is equal to himself. He doesn’t know “what’s wrong with these people” to accuse him of this crime. And for good reason, he seems to be leaving with an advantage: the case is based mainly on statements from people known (badly) by the police services. To the point where, in the defense lawyer’s pleading, Me Wacquez judged “the proof relegated to the simple rank of an accessory” in this case facing accusations “free”, “meaningless”of “pure inventions”.
“He, obviously, always tells the truth,” ironically for his part Me Spano, lawyer for the civil parties. “We can’t say that everyone is lying except Baghdad Benine. (…) He accuses them all to better absolve himself of responsibility.”
This way “to clear oneself rather than take responsibility for anything”, the psychiatric expert also detected it in the accused’s functioning pattern. In addition to psychopathic traits and a tendency towards manipulation. Not necessarily because of Benine’s attitude, “calm”Sometimes “shy” with a “bon contact”but mainly because of his criminal record. There are 32 mentions there, mainly for acts of theft and violence. The first conviction recorded dates back to when he was 14. He did the math: 45% of his life was spent in detention.
“I could have been a really good, magnificent person. But I grew up at Neuhof [un quartier prioritaire de Strasbourg, ndlr].” The fault is poor attendance, he says, his “process de vie a été cassé”. Chérif Chekatt, cousin of his mother or grandfather, it remains unclear, was, since his youth, a companion in crime.
In addition to the eight years of imprisonment, Baghdad Benine will have to pay 8,000 euros to the victims. No charges had been brought against him in connection with the Strasbourg attack.
The defense lawyer, Me Wacquez, indicated that he wanted to take the time to think with his client about a possible appeal. The time limit for filing an appeal is 10 days.
