Yasin Hansye’s voice is soft, almost peaceful. Only his piercing black eyes recall the torments of his life. Three and a half years ago, his little sister Shaïna, then barely 15 years old, was stabbed and burned alive a few days after discovering her pregnancy. Her boy friend of the time, main suspect in the case, is judged from this Monday and for the whole week before the assize court for minors of Beauvais. The trial will most likely be held behind closed doors, as the accused was 17 at the time of the events. For 20 minutesYasin Hansye, 25, confides.
How do you feel on the eve of this trial?
We have been waiting for this moment for three years, so inevitably, there is a form of impatience. We want to know the truth even if we have already made up our minds. The file speaks for itself, there are many elements. With my parents, we are certain that it was he who killed him. We are prepared for him to be able to deny, lie or remain silent; he did it during the whole investigation, why wouldn’t he do it again?
People sometimes ask me if I’m afraid to meet his gaze. No, I’m not afraid, he’s the one in the box, not me. I want the sentence to be exemplary, 30 years or life. Because he, when he leaves, he will be able to rebuild his life. My sister, she’s six feet under. I hope that we will not once again be disappointed by justice.
What do you mean by that ?
In 2017, when Shaïna walked through the door of the police station after the gang rape of which she had just been the victim, she was not taken seriously [la policière qui a recueilli son témoignage a notamment annoté en majuscule « ne manifeste aucune émotion particulière ». Les faits ont été requalifiés en agression sexuelle en réunion.]
In this case, the main suspect, her ex-boyfriend, was prohibited from returning to Creil. Not only was he still there, he assaulted her in the middle of the street [le procès n’a pas encore eu lieu]. My sister died because of a reputation when she trusted justice. She did everything that needed to be done, she couldn’t have done more.
Do you fear, with the trial, to immerse yourself in your memories?
It will always be there, even in ten, twenty, thirty years. Obviously, at some point, we will have to turn the page. I would like to be able to live my life too, have a family, but I will always think of Shaïna, I will never forget those moments. This case stole my youth, my lightness, it will always be in the back of my mind.
On October 26, 2019, when you noticed that your sister was not in her room in the early morning, did you immediately realize that something serious was happening?
With my parents, we are very worried, but we cannot imagine what has just happened. We call him dozens of times on his phone, but it cuts off directly, there is not even a ringtone. We go to the police station to have them set off an abduction alert or something, but we are told that she left voluntarily, that she must have run away and that they cannot do anything for 48 hours. We can argue, tell them that my little sister has had problems in the neighborhood, that she is the target of harassment, they don’t want to hear anything when she is only 15 years old. So we start getting organized, we call her best friend, we do rounds, we show her picture in the neighborhood and even the towns around. Friends and family help us. In the evening, I put a message on social networks.
That day, your mother finds a positive pregnancy test in a bag of Shaïna…
Paradoxically, that reassures us a little. We say to ourselves that she may be with this boy. My mother Shaina calls back, leaves a message saying they’ll discuss it when she gets back, not to worry. But the phone still rings strangely and in the evening, it starts to rain cats and dogs and we still have no news. It was one of the longest nights of my life.
How did you learn of his death?
The next morning – it was a Sunday – we resume our search, we search everywhere, we call everyone. At the end of the afternoon, I receive many messages which say that they found the body of a calcined girl. It was not very far from our house, but I don’t know the place. One of the messages tells me about a rumor going around: the victim was killed by her boyfriend because she was pregnant. At this point, I make the link with the test that we had just found…
You have decided to publicize your sister’s story. Why this approach?
Shaïna died for nothing, victim of rumours. There was a relentless attack on my sister. To talk about her is to show who she really was, to bring her memory to life, but also to tell about the dysfunctions that we have faced.
I am a very religious person, even more so since what happened, it helped me a lot to hold on. The media coverage came late, but I really felt that God heard me. Now, Shaïna is in the hearts of the French while some have worked hard to destroy her reputation. Everyone has discovered their ordeal. In the neighborhood, after the affair, there was a lot of solidarity, but we still heard people say “she really wanted it, she was provocative”. If some still think so, they don’t say so publicly.
A few months ago, a pot, launched by the online media Vakita, raised nearly 40,000 euros for your family. How did you experience this?
It was incredible, I did not expect so much solidarity. It was a very difficult period, we didn’t really get out of it. Before the case, my mother, my father and I were all on permanent contracts, but we all went through a period of depression. My parents no longer work. Me, I am in temporary but I have periods of unemployment. This kitty, last December, allowed us to focus a little more on the legal battle that awaited us.