More than five years after attacks on the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket launched an ugly new wave of terrorism in France, the trial begins on Wednesday of 14 people accused of helping the killers.
Only 11 of the defendants can be present for hearings, to be held at the new criminal court in Porte de Clichy, on the outskirts of the French capital.
Three others fled to Syria shortly before the attacks. Two are presumed to have died there while fighting alongside ISIS but can still be tried because their deaths are unconfirmed.
The grim events that unfolded between January 7 and 9, 2015, shocked the world and intensified debate about blasphemy and the limits of freedom of expression.
They were followed over the next 18 months by a series of outrages in France, including the Paris massacre on November 13, 2015, that killed 131 people and a lorry attack in which 86 died on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice in July 2016.
The principal characters in the interlinked dramas of those three January days in 2015 – the killers – will also be absent from the trial.
Said and Cherif Kouachi, the French-Algerian brothers who shot and killed 12 at the Charlie Hebdo offices, died two days later in a siege at a sign-making company’s premises 40 kilometres away in Dammartin-en-Goele.
Both had aligned themselves with Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula and claimed their motive was to destroy Charlie Hebdo for its publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.
Cherif Kouachi, 32, told a French TV journalist while still besieged that it was an act of vengeance. “We do not kill women … we have an honour code in Islam,” he claimed, also suggesting that he and his brother, 34, did not kill civilians.
But the only non-civilians killed were two police officers. One was a Muslim, Ahmed Merabet, 42, mercilessly finished off as he lay wounded on the pavement.
The nine murdered journalists and cartoonists included a woman, Elsa Cayat, 54, a psychoanalyst and columnist.
During the siege, the Kouachis’ accomplice Amedy Coulibaly, 32, who had met Cherif Kouachi in prison and become friendly with both brothers, seized hostages in the Hyper Cacher Kosher supermarket in Vincennes, eastern Paris.
He murdered four Jewish people and seriously wounded four others before he, too, was shot dead by police.
On the day before, with France still coming to terms with the Charlie Hebdo killings, Coulibaly shot a Martinique-born auxiliary policewoman, Clarissa Jean-Philippe, 26, in the back as she dealt with a traffic accident at Montrouge, in the southern suburbs of the capital.
Sometimes referred to as the forgotten victim of this short but ferocious outbreak of terrorism in and around Paris, she also died. She was due to be confirmed in her post four days later.
One theory before the court will be that Coulibaly, who declared allegiance to ISIS, may have been planning to attack Jewish children at a nearby school adjacent to a synagogue.
If true, this suggests he was inspired by Mohamed Merah, a self-styled Al Qaeda serial killer whose seven victims included three Jewish children at their school in Toulouse, south-western France, in 2012.
The Charlie Hebdo trial will be filmed for historical and judicial archives, an exceptional step previously taken for the 1987 trial of Klaus Barbie, the "Butcher of Lyon" convicted of crimes against humanity while serving as the Gestapo chief in the French city during the wartime Vichy regime.
The absent defendants include Coulibaly’s partner, Hayat Boumedienne, 32, who he married in a religious ceremony not recognised in French law.
Once described as the world’s most wanted female terrorist suspect, she is alleged to have played a major role in planning his attacks, raising the necessary funds through car fraud.
Pregnant by Coulibaly, she left France, travelling to Syria through Spain and Turkey, days before the attacks.
She was reportedly killed in Syria but a woman returning from the conflict later claimed she was alive and that they had been detained together at a camp for ISIS prisoners in Al Hol, near the Syrian border with Iraq.
She said Boumedienne escaped using a false identity in October 2019.
The others being tried in their absence, Mehdi Belhoucine, 24, and his brother Mohammed, 28, were reportedly killed in combat with ISIS.
The most serious charges against those before the court are faced by Ali Riza Polat, 35, allegedly Coulibaly’s right-hand man.
He is accused of procuring in Belgium as well as helping to pay for the plot from the proceeds of crime.
During the weekend after the attacks, about four million people gathered throughout France in shows of solidarity with the victims.
JeSuisCharlie (I am Charlie) and NousSommesTousCharlie (We’re all Charlie) became slogans and hashtags reflecting the defence of free speech.
Richard Malka, Charlie Hebdo's lawyer, says he will be representing freedom of expression at the trial.
But he believes the principle has been severely damaged and accuses the left and academia of suppressing controversial opinions for fear of causing offence.
"For 30 years, I have been defending this newspaper, which symbolises everything the Kouachi brothers sought to eradicate," he told the news magazine Le Point, which headlined its 18-page preview of the trial "Have the Islamists won?".
Mr Malka, who has been under police protection since the attacks, said: “My unhappy client is therefore liberty. I fear that in the medium term it is a lost cause.”
The trial is expected to last until mid-November. The accused face sentences of between 10 years and life imprisonment if convicted.
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Key facilities
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap (TB) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Switzerland, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Lord Giltters, Adrie de Vries, David O’Meara
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
9.25pm Al Fahidi Fort Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Land Of Legends, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
10pm Dubai Dash Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner Equilateral, Frankie Dettori, Charles Hills.
THE SPECS
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More coverage from the Future Forum
Fixtures
Sunday, December 8, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v USA
Monday, December 9, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – USA v Scotland
Wednesday, December 11, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v Scotland
Thursday, December 12, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v USA
Saturday, December 14, ICC Academy, Dubai – USA v Scotland
Sunday, December 15, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v Scotland
Note: All matches start at 10am, admission is free
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
UFC%20FIGHT%20NIGHT%3A%20SAUDI%20ARABIA%20RESULTS
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday Stuttgart v Cologne (Kick-off 10.30pm UAE)
Saturday RB Leipzig v Hertha Berlin (5.30pm)
Mainz v Borussia Monchengladbach (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Union Berlin v SC Freiburg (5.30pm)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (5.30pm)
Sunday Wolfsburg v Arminia (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Hoffenheim (9pm)
Bayer Leverkusen v Augsburg (11.30pm)
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fislamic-economy-consumer-spending-to-increase-45-to-3-2tn-by-2024-1.936583%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EGlobal%20Islamic%20economy%20to%20grow%203.1%25%20to%20touch%20%242.4%20trillion%20by%202024%3C%2Fa%3E%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fuk-economy-plunges-into-worst-ever-recession-after-record-20-4-contraction-1.1062560%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EUK%20economy%20plunges%20into%20worst-ever%20recession%20after%20record%2020.4%25%20contraction%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fislamic-economy-consumer-spending-to-increase-45-to-3-2tn-by-2024-1.936583%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EIslamic%20economy%20consumer%20spending%20to%20increase%2045%25%20to%20%243.2tn%20by%202024%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
