At the Bouches-du-Rhône assize court,
The rounds of a helicopter interrupt the calm of the awakening streets of Aix-en-Provence. This Monday, the trial for the triple murder against a backdrop of drug trafficking of Réda Khaldi, Nassim Loubani and Brahim Chabane, committed between the end of December 2020 and the beginning of January 2021, opens before the Bouches-du-Rhône Assize Court. The last mentioned was the big brother of Amine Kessaci, civil party in this case.
This trial is placed under high security. If the court does not want to communicate about the system in place, the police surround the Monclar palace, while the square is almost completely cordoned off. Under the eye of the cameras, surrounded by law enforcement, the elected environmentalist at Marseille town hall enters the courtroom. “Today, it is not about revenge but about justice, after six years of combat,” says the activist, committed against drug trafficking since the assassination of his half-brother.
Fixed gaze
Facing him in the box, five accused, known to the police and justice services. Nadjim Ahamada Mbae, Ahmed Zakaria Bensaci, Malik Kariba, Karim Harrat, known as “Le Rant”, heavyweight in Marseille traffic and Amine Oualane, presented as an executive of the DZ Mafia. All appear detained, suspected of having ordered or participated in the three murders with premeditation.
A few minutes before the start of the hearing, Amine Kessaci keeps his gaze fixed on the glass box opposite. Alongside him, relatives of the three victims share the bench of civil parties. Not all of them were able to wait for the legal proceedings to be delivered: Slimane Khaldi, Réda's father, is dead, announces his lawyer. President Roger Arata's recall of the facts is particularly difficult. Faces close. Ouassila Benhamdi, mother of Brahim Chabane, looks at the ceiling.
The method of assassination is cruel to hear. The three men, aged 22 and 24, were shot and burned in a car. First Brahim Chabane and Réda Khaldi, found charred in an Audi rental vehicle at dawn on December 29, 2020. Then Nassim Loubani, on January 6, 2021, dismembered then set on fire in a stolen Renault Clio. “Everyone must understand the absolute emotion of my clients,” emphasizes Me Pierre-Olivier Sur, lawyer for Amine Kessaci and his mother. We expect the truth from justice, with confidence. »
“I killed all of Marseille”
For investigators, the scenario of the triple assassination is simple: Karim Harrat, alleged master of the Marseille networks from Dubai, would have ordered the executions to restore local balances and curb the ambitions of the victims. The latter, who knew they were threatened according to their relatives, were involved in drug trafficking and already under surveillance by the police. “Le Rant” would then have activated a local team to set up the deadly ambush, led by Amine Oualane, “Mamine”, on the run at the time of the events.
A lead supported throughout the investigation by sound systems, DNA traces found at the initial crime scene in Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, north of Marseille, telephony and the use of Sky ECC encrypted messaging. But also genetic traces found in a Mercedes, traveling with the Audi that was set on fire the night of the incident and discovery abandoned by investigators.
“I want the truth”
“I don’t understand very well, I have difficulty reading and writing,” explains Malik Kariba, with black beard and eyes, when the president lists the list of charges. Standing with his arms crossed, the man stares nervously around the room. He only recognizes the theft of the car in which the body of Nassim Loubani was found. Nicknamed “Baghdad” or “the Butcher”, he is nevertheless accused of having killed and cut him up. “I killed all of Marseille with the same guitar [nickname for an AK47],” he boasted in conversations captured by investigators.
At his side, Amine Oualane, gray sweater and thin glasses, remains motionless. “If I had been in the car that evening, my family would have been on the bench opposite,” he declares, contesting the alleged facts like all the accused. And added: “If they want to accept my condolences, they accept them. If they do not accept them…” A word of “compassion” for the victims’ loved ones also shared by Karim Harrat when he speaks. “I want the truth for them and for me.” Throughout this first day, the journeys of the accused, marked by multiple incarcerations, must be studied by the court.
