Eight defendants prosecuted in relation to a truck attack by an Islamic State supporter that killed 86 people in Nice, France’s French Riviera city, more than six years ago during Bastille Day celebrations, were found guilty by a French court on Tuesday.
The judge’s decision came after three and a half months of often heartbreaking testimony from assault survivors who detailed the horrors and carnage they saw that Thursday night in the summer of 2016 and how it affected their lives ever since.
Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, the driver of the vehicle that rammed into spectators of fireworks, was shot and killed by police the night of the attack.
He was found guilty of enlisting the assistance of eight defendants—seven males and one woman—in planning a terrorist act. The judge sentenced them to two to 18 years in prison. They admitted that not all of them had a demonstrable connection to terrorism or were aware of Lahouaiej-plans.
Bouhlel’s Mohamed Ghraeib and Chokri Chafroud, the two people most directly linked to Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, were found guilty of terrorism-related offenses and received the longest penalties of 18 years.
Both had “an intensive relationship,” according to the prosecution, with Lahouaiej-Bouhlel. The attacker and Ghraieb had been friends for 15 years, went to the same gym, and spoke on the phone 1,278 times in a single year.
Vincent Brengarth, Ghraieb’s attorney, predicted his client will file an appeal.
The judge’s ruling received favorable feedback from the attack survivors.
“Even if it is little in comparison to what we have experienced, I am glad to learn that the two major defendants have been sentenced to 18 years in prison,” said survivor Laurence Bray. “I am relieved with the verdict. There will now be a significant void.
Another survivor, Caroline Villani, said, “It won’t bring my family back, my mom, or my son, but it’s a small win that feels wonderful.”
Other defendants found guilty on Tuesday were alleged to have had a more hazy understanding of the offender’s aims, including Ramzi Arefa. He was found guilty of supposedly not understanding the attacker’s terrorist intents when he sold him a firearm. Arefa was given a 12-year jail term.
For the victims’ families and survivors, the trial was heartbreaking. Many others watched the events online or at a special viewing station built up near the Nice seashore, but some were able to go to Paris to attend in person.
33 of the victims were foreign nationals, and 15 of them were kids. The trial involves more than 2,400 civil parties.
Thousands of people crowded Nice’s renowned boardwalk on July 14, 2016, to celebrate France’s national holiday. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel crashed his 19-ton truck head-on into a crowd of people on the picturesque Promenade des Anglais in 4 minutes and 17 seconds, killing 86 people and injuring 450 more.
Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had expressed support for the Islamic State organization, according to investigators, but there was no concrete evidence of his connections to IS operatives. At the time, the group was active in both Syria and Iraq.
Following devastating attacks in Paris at the Bataclan theater and other locations in France and Belgium planned by the terrorist group, there was a truck slaughter.
