2024-11-14 15:36:00
Sentenced to thirty years of criminal imprisonment in February 2023, Marseillais Kamel Meziani, who, in the eyes of the judicial police, would be among the important figures of French narcobanditism, was acquitted, Wednesday, November 13, by the Assize Court of Appeal of the Var. He was accused of having given instructions and provided assistance to the perpetrators of a double assassination and an attempted assassination, acts committed on October 21, 2016 against a backdrop of rivalries over the management of a point of sale. of drugs in the Phocaean city.
The shooting, committed by two men on a scooter, cost the lives of two passengers in a vehicle parked in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant: the driver, a young paraplegic man, and the rear passenger, injured in the chest and killed two bullets in the head. The latter had absolutely no connection with drugs and was accidentally found in the vehicle of one of his childhood friends. The third occupant of the vehicle that the authors had taken care to “mark”, had his life saved by fleeing under heavy fire from weapons of war.
Read also (2021): Article reserved for our subscribers The arrest of Kamel Meziani, a “significant blow to narcobanditism” in Marseille
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The accusation against Kamel Meziani, 40, presented as the boss of the powerful narcotics network in the city of Oliviers A, was mainly based on the statements of a witness heard under two teams competing for the deal point of the Mediterranean city. Although he admits to having been involved in trafficking in the past, Kamel Meziani has always contested this role as leader and having transmitted any instructions. The jurors of the Assize Court of Appeal considered that the “fuzzy and undetailed accusations” issued by the anonymous witness “could not be corroborated by any tangible element”. According to his lawyers, Messrs Keren Saffar, Raphaël Chiche and Thomas Bidnic, this faceless witness with a garbled voice “was not alone during his testimony but chaperoned by third parties, very likely police officers, who intervened when he was in difficulty”.
“Convict an innocent person”
In its reasons, the Assize Court of Appeal notes that “the investigation did not make it possible to highlight how, when and to whom the authorization [de mener des représailles] would have been delivered by Kamel Meziani, leaving it at the hypothesis stage, neither verified nor verifiable”. If the Aix-en-Provence jurors had judged, in 2023, that Kamel Meziani had also provided the perpetrators with a stolen scooter, weapons, ammunition, a beacon and a tablet to geolocate the victims’ vehicle, their counterparts in Var estimated, conversely, that the accusation did not bring “no objective element linking him to these objects and in particular to the two weapons used by the killers”.
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How does the acquittal of Kamel Meziani affect public perception of the legal system in cases related to narcotics violence?
**Interview with Legal Analyst Dr. Sarah Lemaire on the Acquittal of Kamel Meziani**
**Editor:** Thank you for joining us, Dr. Lemaire. Kamel Meziani’s recent acquittal has sent shockwaves through the legal community and beyond. Can you provide some context about the case and its significance?
**Dr. Lemaire:** Absolutely. Kamel Meziani was previously sentenced to thirty years in prison for his alleged role in a double homicide linked to drug rivalries in Marseille. His acquittal by the Assize Court of Appeal is significant, not only because it overturns a severe sentence but also due to the complex nature of the evidence against him.
**Editor:** The case involved a tragic shooting that claimed innocent lives. What can you tell us about the events of that day in October 2016?
**Dr. Lemaire:** On October 21, 2016, a violent shooting occurred in a fast-food restaurant parking lot, resulting in the deaths of two men. One was a paraplegic, while the other was a bystander—completely unrelated to the drug trade. This incident highlights the collateral damage often associated with narcotics violence, which makes cases like this particularly sensitive and controversial.
**Editor:** Meziani was acquitted based largely on witness testimony. How reliable are such testimonies in criminal cases, and what factors can impact their credibility?
**Dr. Lemaire:** Witness testimonies can be pivotal in criminal cases but are notoriously fallible. Factors such as the witness’s perspective, potential biases, and external pressures can skew the reliability of their accounts. In Meziani’s case, the prosecution’s reliance on a witness from a rival network raises questions about the motivations behind the testimony.
**Editor:** In the bigger picture, what does this acquittal mean for the fight against narcobanditism in France, particularly in Marseille?
**Dr. Lemaire:** This acquittal could have mixed implications. On one hand, it might embolden those involved in narcotics, suggesting that the legal framework may not secure convictions even in high-profile cases. On the other, it stresses the need for better evidence and law enforcement practices. The fight against narcobanditism will require addressing the systemic issues that allow such violence to flourish, rather than solely relying on punitive measures.
**Editor:** Thank you, Dr. Lemaire, for your insights on this complex case. It will be interesting to see how this reverberates through the legal system and the community in Marseille.
