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Only one of the alleged kidnappers of French mountaineer Hervé Gourdel was in court on the first day of the trial.
The trial of the 2014 kidnapping and beheading of a French tourist claimed by an armed faction affiliated with the Islamic State group opened Thursday in a court in Algiers.
Only one of the alleged kidnappers of 55-year-old mountain guide instructor Hervé Gourdel was in court for the trial – the other seven are on trial in absentia.
Members of Gourdel’s family, including his partner Françoise Grandclaude, were in the public gallery.
The main defendant Abdelmalek Hamzaoui was brought to justice by ambulance in a wheelchair accompanied by a medical team and watched by the special police forces.
At the request of defense lawyers, the opening of the trial was delayed for two weeks due to his state of health.
Hamzaoui faces the death penalty if found guilty.
People leave the Algerian court in Dar Al-Baida in the capital, Algiers, on February 18, 2021, where the trial of the men accused of the murder of French climber Hervé Gourdel is taking place [Ryad Kramdi/AFP]
Six other defendants in court are accused of not having promptly informed the authorities of the kidnapping of Gourdel.
Five were Gourdel’s climbing companions and spent 14 hours in captivity with him.
The sixth is accused of not having reported as soon as possible the theft of his car by the kidnappers to transport the French captive.
All six face up to five years in prison if found guilty.
Gourdel’s murder sparked outrage in France and Algeria.
The adventure enthusiast had gone to Algeria at the invitation of his climbing companions to try a new ascent.
His captors of the Jund al-Khilafa group (caliphate soldiers) demanded an end to the air raids against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria by a US-led coalition that included France.
Three days after kidnapping him, they released gruesome video footage of his beheading.
A few months after the beheading, the leader of the armed faction was killed by Algerian special forces.
According to the Algerian Ministry of Defense, Abdelmalek Gouri – also known as Khalid Abu Suleiman – was killed in an ambush near Boumerdès, 50 km east of Algiers in December 2014.
Gourdel’s body was not found until January of the following year after an operation involving some 3,000 Algerian soldiers.
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