At the Assize Court in Paris,
The last photo of him dates back to October 2018. Rédoine Faïd then appears with a pale complexion, his eyes circled in black, handcuffed when he jumped out of bed. The photo was taken 93 days after his escape by helicopter from the ultra-secure prison of Réau, in Seine-et-Marne, at the end of a run strewn with pitfalls. But this Tuesday, as the trial of this extraordinary escape opens before the Paris Assize Court, the man is unrecognizable.
Tight fir green T-shirt, shaved head and beard, smile on his lips, the multi-recidivist robber seems to have looked ten years younger. He hasn’t aged a bit since he was on the TV shows, presenting himself as a repentant of banditry even as he continued his criminal activities on the sly. Now 51 years old, Rédoine Faïd has been in solitary confinement for ten years – with the exception of his three months on the run – in conditions that his lawyers constantly denounce and describe as inhuman. He was placed there in 2013, after another escape, that of the Lille-Sequedin prison. This time, he had exited through the front door after blowing up five doors and taking guards hostage.
Rédoine Faïd, not released before 2046
Because he is a repeat offender, the robber faces life imprisonment. But because of his past convictions, Rédoine Faïd knows that whatever the verdict at the end of these seven weeks of hearing, he cannot be released before September 2046. His eleven co-accused – including two of his brothers and two nephews – incur between ten and thirty years of imprisonment. However, despite the stakes of this trial, on this first day there reigns a funny atmosphere in the box. Almost light.
Both do not hide their pleasure in meeting. At each suspension – and there were many on this essentially technical day – the defendants discuss, sometimes hug, joke. When Rédoine’s older brother, Rachid, 62, takes his place not far from his brother, the two men throw knowing glances at each other. Suspected of being the main architect of this escape, Rachid Faïd was arrested in the same apartment in Creil. Since then, the two men have never seen each other again. Their brother Brahim, also implicated in this case, seems more distant. He was in the parlor with Rédoine when the commandos appeared. If this father, who has never had any trouble with the law, has always denied his involvement, he is suspected of having participated in the preparations. He appears free, under judicial supervision.
Security procedure
But this apparent bonhomie cannot make us forget the concerns that hover around this trial. Fearing a new escape, the authorities set up an XXL security service, similar to that which had been deployed during the trial of the November 13 attacks, which was held in the same room. The GIGN escorts Rédoine Faïd during transfers. Gates and metal detectors have resumed service. A telephone jammer was installed in the room. Before the start of the hearing, a dog, specialized in particular in the detection of explosives, sniffed the room. The accused climbed one by one into the box. Long and tedious procedures which push the president, Frédérique Aline, to ask the authorities to “accelerate the pace”. Because the schedule is already loaded, and the verdict expected for October 20.