“Malicious glances”, insults and expulsion from the box: more than three years following the murder in the Bois de Boulogne of Vanesa Campos, a transgender prostitute, the trial of nine Egyptians opened Tuesday at the Assizes in Paris in an electric atmosphere.
The nine accused, aged 23 to 34, are suspected of having been part of a gang that had been raging for several years in the Bois de Boulogne, robbing and violating sex workers and their customers.
Three are accused of having killed Vanesa Campos during a “punitive expedition” on the night of August 16 to 17, 2018, a murder for which they blame each other.
A 36-year-old Peruvian transgender prostitute, in an irregular situation in France where she arrived in the summer of 2016, Vanesa Campos was found dying by her “compañeras” near her workplace, a makeshift shelter in a remote part of the woods and devoid of lighting.
His murder had thrown a harsh light on the violence suffered by sex workers, associations incriminating the law of April 2016 penalizing their clients.
From the opening of the debates, the defense warned regarding the temptation to make it a “symbol” trial and asked the court to reject the constitution of civil party of the association for the defense of trans people Acceptess-T .
“The sex of the victim, his gender, had no influence on what happened”, pleaded one of the defense lawyers, Antoine Aussedat, deeming important “for the serenity of the debates” that everything “political debate” remains “outside” the courtroom.
The first day was marked by many incidents.
After several calls to order to the defendants who laughed or called each other eagerly, the president of the court, Caroline Jadis-Pomeau, had one of them expelled, Mahmed A., who had just commented on the report of an investigator from personality, attracting a slew of insults from one of his co-defendants.
– “Fingers of honor” –
The magistrate also intervened to ask the defendants to stop the “fingers of honor” and the “devastating glances” towards the other implicated or the civil parties.
Former colleagues and friends of Vanesa Campos, civil parties to the trial, thus ended up leaving the courtroom following one of the defendants “made a sign to cut their throat”, their lawyer said. Chirine Heydari, who earlier denounced the “malicious looks” of the accused.
The court might only begin to examine the personalities of the accused, young Egyptians who sometimes arrived under age in France.
One explained during the procedure that he had committed several thefts in the Bois de Boulogne in order to be able to eat. He also claimed to have been hosted by the victim and to have had an affair with her, which civil party lawyers have questioned.
The investigation into the murder of Vanesa Campos quickly focused on this group of young Egyptians, in conflict for several months with sex workers who had hired a man to protect them.
The evening of the facts, a dozen men had gathered in the Bois de Boulogne for, according to the prosecution, a “punitive expedition”.
They had armed themselves with tear gas, a knife, a taser, even branches torn from trees and also had a gun stolen a week earlier in the car of a police officer who was with a prostitute. .
Mahmoud Kadri, 24, was named by the other members of the group as the author of the fatal shooting at Vanesa Campos.
He disputes the facts and accuses the one at the other end of the box: Karim Ibrahim, 29, considered by witnesses to be the leader of the gang.
A third man, Aymen Dib, 25, is also on trial for “organized murder”, accused of stabbing the victim.
Five defendants appear for having taken part in the punitive expedition and one last is judged for the theft of the weapon to the police officer.
Verdict expected on January 27.
