After 3 hours of deliberation, the jurors of the Liège Assize Court declared Thursday evening Diana Hanzé guilty of assault and battery leading to the death of Mohamed El Atmani without intention of giving it.
Mohamed El Atmani (46) was pushed from a window on the second floor of a building in Verviers on April 5, 2017. Diana Hanzé is also convicted of possession of narcotics.
Recall of facts
The facts took place on April 5, 2017 around 3:30 p.m. in Verviers. Mohamed El Atmani (46 years old), in a state of illegal residence, had a fall from the window on the second floor of a building located rue des Raines. Mohamed El Atmani was reportedly pushed before falling out of the window. He had died of his injuries following being hospitalized.
Diana Hanzé, a 29-year-old Jalhaytoise, is accused of having committed this murder by defenestration. Defense lawyers argue that Diana Hanzé must be acquitted of the facts which caused the death of Mohamed El Atmani.
Me Mathieu Simonis stressed that there are several hypotheses to explain the fall of the victim. But the accused would be a stranger to it. “My client has been in pain for 5 years. At the start of the investigation, she told nonsense to try to get out of drug addiction. Three days later, she realized how much she had made a mistake. Acquitted at the court of Verviers, it was retried on appeal. But the court declared itself incompetent. Between the appeal in cassation and the judge’s ruling, the procedure took time “, argued Me Simonis.
Lots of drugs
The lawyer recalled the sleepless night devoted to drug consumption which preceded the events and maintained that Diana Hanzé was sleeping at the time of the fall and when the police entered the apartment. Me Simonis further affirmed that the exact position of the body following the fall might not be determined while the people who saw the body fall saw nothing in particular looking towards the window through which it had fallen. No trace of struggle has been brought to light.
“The victim, of whom nothing is known, had abused narcotics and had taken a considerable amount of cocaine. This man was completely junked. He had an accidental fall from the window, as drunk students sometimes realize. following student parties “, argued the lawyer.
According to Me Simonis, there is still a doubt. There is no formal proof once morest Diana Hanzé. “The warning signal is that Diana Hanzé has twice decided to undergo the polygraph test. Even if the result turned out to be inconclusive, she took the risk of carrying out this test which delivers reliable conclusions in 96% of cases. There is a risk of miscarriage of justice. There is no certainty that she pushed Mohamed El Atmani. We cannot prove that she is guilty “, added the lawyer.
Me Jean-Paul Reynders insisted on the specter of miscarriage of justice and maintained that the file does not allow to retain a guilt beyond all reasonable doubt. There is not enough evidence to convict his client of the murder of Mohamed El Atmani. On the other hand, the defense recognizes the facts of possession of narcotics.
