Families of Paris attack victims appear in court, hoping for answers

Record ID: 102231

  • Title: Families of Paris attack victims appear in court, hoping for answers
  • Date: 24th May 2016
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (FILE - NOVEMBER 13, 2015) (REUTERS) POLICE RAID IN PROGRESS ON BATACLAN CONCERT HALL VARIOUS OF EMERGENCY WORKERS CARRYING AWAY VICTIMS VICTIMS OF ATTACKS WALKING WITH EMERGENCY BLANKETS VARIOUS OF BUSES CARRYING VICTIMS OF ATTACKS LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 8th June 2016 15:17
  • Keywords: France shooting attacks victims court Paris Bataclan
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE
  • City: PARIS, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,International/National Security
  • Reuters ID: LVA0024J64DON
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A few hundred family members and friends of the victims in November's attacks in Paris appeared before French judges on Tuesday (May 24) for the first time, hoping to learn more about what happened to their loved ones.
    More than six months after a series of attacks across the French capital claimed the lives of 130 people and injured 350 others, families of victims are still in the dark about many facts.
    "Today we're all here to understand what happened. My sister was at a cafe terrace quietly eating dinner and she died and she did not come back from her dinner. Today we're expecting to learn where the responsibilities lie, why my sister died, why she was transported from one side of the city to the other. Did she die then? Did she die at the beginning? We don't know. For the time being we have zero information and we've been patiently awaiting this moment. And it's time now for us to understand the ins and outs of this case and who killed all these people," said Claire Houd, whose sister Djamila Houd died on Nov. 13 when Islamist militants opened fire on the cafe where she was dining.
    The six judges investigating the case will meet with families over the course of three days at Ecole Militaire, a military complex in centre Paris.
    Stephane Gicquel, secretary general of the French national federation for victims of accidents, said one of the hardest things for families is not knowing how their loved ones died.
    "The families in mourning already have a very concrete and immediate expectation, to be told that the autopsy reports of their loved ones will be added to the investigation, which today is not the case. It's become hard to bear for these families, seven months after the attacks, not to know under which conditions their loved ones died. This is really the first expectation, and then to see how the results of these autopsies will be communicated to the families. We hope experts can accompany and inform the families directly, as they read carefully this report, which is a very important moment for these families," he said.
    Gerard Chemla, a lawyer who represents about 75 victims of the November attacks, said other questions might not have answers -- like why the French government was not able to prevent the Paris attacks, and how they did not see the Brussels bombings coming a few months later.
    This court appearance follows the first hearing of Paris attacks prime suspect Salah Abdeslam, who refused to speak at his first hearing in France on Friday (May 20).
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