Despite his advanced age and a serious illness, Robert Pinto, 89, is determined to spend the next two weeks on the bench of civil parties at the Seine-Saint-Denis Assize Court. “I don’t really want to go back to my memories, but it’s really important for me to attend the trial,” says the former entrepreneur, a figure of the Jewish community. Almost four years ago, on September 8, 2017, he and his son, in his fifties, were found by the police tied up at their home, in Livry-Gargan, after being kidnapped for nearly an hour, threatened with a knife. and a screwdriver, hit by three men with hidden faces. The alert had been given a few minutes earlier by Mireille Pinto, then 75 years old, wife and mother of the two victims, herself abused by their attackers who seized her jewelry.
Five people, four men and a young woman, appear until July 2 for kidnapping in an organized gang under the threat of weapons, with the aggravating circumstance of anti-Semitism. Because according to the victims, on several occasions, their attackers referred to their religion. “You Jews have money, we have nothing. You Jews, you are the spoiled of the Earth and we, we are left behind ”, would have launched one of them in particular to Robert Pinto. According to the elements collected by the investigators, the individual suspected of being the sponsor of the attack would have spotted Mireille Pinto, “a chic lady with beautiful jewelry”, then followed to her home several weeks before the facts.
One of the challenges of the hearing will be to determine whether the victims have been targeted because of their confession. During the investigations, only one of the three men suspected of the assault admitted having taken part in the theft while affirming that it took place without violence and, above all, that he was unaware of the victims’ confession. Four people are also on trial for concealment of theft.
For 20 minutes, Robert Pinto looks back on this morning of violence.
What memories do you keep of your assault?
It was terrible, we were beaten, beaten. It was incredibly violent, we are still very marked when it was almost four years ago. They repeated to us over and over again “You are Jews, you have money, give us the money”. It was a constant rehearsal, they threatened us with a knife and a screwdriver. They beat my wife, my son. Me, they hit me in the head. All the while I was wondering if they were going to kill us.
Today you left Livry-Gargan for Paris. Is it following this assault?
With my wife, after the assault, we no longer felt safe at home even though we had been living there for 30 years. We quickly made the decision to move to Paris, but it took a little while to find accommodation. It cost us a lot of money, but anyway, we couldn’t stay, we weren’t safe anymore. Today, we are still very marked by what happened. We are still in shock, no one can imagine the violence we have suffered.
The aggravating circumstance of anti-Semitism was retained in this case. Has your assault changed your religious practice?
No. We did not give in and we will continue to practice. I am French, I am Jewish, I don’t have to hide or change.
What do you expect from this trial?
That these bandits be punished, quite simply.