Strasbourg 2018 Christmas market attack trial begins in Paris

A trial begun this Friday in Paris over the 2018 attack on a Christmas market in Strasbourg. Four suspects are accused of terrorism, criminal conspiracy and provision of weapons to the attacker. 

A fifth man, said to be in his eighties, may be trialled later, after a medical examination. The trial should take about a month.

On December 11th, 2018, 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt opened fire in central Strasbourg near the Christmas market, killing five people and wounding 11 more. He managed to escape from the scene, but was shot dead by police two days later.

Chekatt was “well known” to the police, but had not been connected to any terrorism activities before the attack. Later, it was presumed that he had been radicalized in jail, where he had served several terms. One of his former cellmates is a key defendant in the process.

ISIS claimed the responsibility for the attack, but the French Interior Ministry has expressed strong doubts about this.