A man is set to find out whether he has successfully appealed the charge against him of “concealing terrorists criminals” after he provided accommodation for those responsible for the November 2015 Paris attacks.
Jawad Bendaoud was jailed by French authorities after being found guilty of providing accommodation for Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Chakib Akrouh, two surviving terrorists responsible for a string of attacks on the Stade De France football stadium, bars and restaurants.
The 30-year-old was initially jailed for 6 months, but the term was increased after he was found to have made death threats to a woman named by Parisian courts only as Sarah Z, a 26-year-old victim who had previously attended court to testify against Mr Bendaoud last year.
According to French media, Ms Z was approached in the halls of the courthouse by Jawad Bendaoud after telling her experience of being seriously injured by the explosion of a kamikaze near the Stade de France during the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris.
Mr Bendaoud was judged on 11 December for death threats and sentenced to six months in prison. The rest of his term is for "concealment of terrorist criminals" and has been in detention during the appeal.
If his appeal is rejected, Mr Bendaoud faces another six years of imprisonment.
Meanwhile, France’s Roma community has been attacked after fake reports spread labelling the community as having been responsible for kidnappings.
Around 20 people were arrested on Monday in Paris after being found to have used a number of weapons on the Roma.
One police officer reportedly warned colleagues that the spread of gossip and false reports about the Roma in France was a “psychosis that is starting to set in.”
“Rumours about kidnapping children with a van are completely unfounded. No abductions have been proven,” Paris police wrote on Twitter on Monday.
“Do not share this false information, do not incite violence”.