Primary suspect tests coronavirus positive, Charlie Hebdo trial postponed
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Ali Riza Polat is facing the most serious charge of the suspected accomplices on trial -- complicity in terrorist crimes -- and could face life in jail if convicted.
The primary suspect in a trial over the 2015 Charlie Hebdo massacre has tested positive for coronavirus, following which the court proceedings have been postponed for Wednesday.
Ali Riza Polat is facing the most serious charge of the suspected accomplices on trial -- complicity in terrorist crimes -- and could face life in jail if convicted.
Polat is accused of having helped the killers of 12 people in the 2015 attack on satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, a female police officer a day later and four hostages at a Jewish supermarket.
People present in the court were then asked to observe social distancing, and insisted to wear a mask.
The suspension of the hearing will delay the conclusion of the trial, which opened on September 2. Defence lawyers were scheduled to plead on November 6, 9, 10 and 11 with the verdict expected on 13.
The 10 accused accomplices must now be tested and "the resumption of the trial will depend on the results of these tests and the development of the health of the people concerned", presiding judge Regis de Jorna said in an email to lawyers Saturday.
Fourteen people are on trial in the special terrorism court over their support for the jihadist trio who attacked in January 2015. All of the attackers were shot dead by police.
