I welcomed the death sentence and I hope that the killer of 19-year-old Chaima Sadou, an Algerian girl who was raped and murdered, will get the death penalty too.

A man makes the victory sign behind a picture of Herve Gourdel, the hiker beheaded by Algerian militants linked to the Islamic State group in Marseille, southern France [BERTRAND LANGLOIS/AFP via Getty Images]

Hervé Gourdel: Man sentenced over French tourist's killing

An Algerian court has sentenced a man to death over the kidnap and murder of a French mountaineer in 2014.

Hervé Gourdel, 55, was abducted while exploring Djurdjura National Park in a case that sparked outrage.

A graphic beheading video later emerged of his death with the Jund al-Khilafa group, affiliated to the Islamic State, claiming responsibility.

One suspect, Abdelmalek Hamzaoui, appeared in court on Thursday with others being tried in absentia.

Hamzaoui denied taking part in the killing, telling the court he had been accused only to "close the case and please the French".

Several of Mr Gourdel's climbing companions, who themselves spent time in captivity, identified Hamzaoui as being among their kidnappers.

Despite his death sentence, Algeria has had a moratorium on executions in place since 1993.

Mr Gourdel, an experienced mountaineer, was visiting the country on a climbing holiday when he was abducted in September 2014.

His captors later posted a video of his beheading online after France refused to comply with their demand to halt its air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

The French president at the time, François Hollande, condemned the killing as a "cruel and

owardly" act.

His body was not found until January 2015, after Algeria mobilised thousands of troops to aid in its recovery.

Earlier in February, Mr Gourdel's partner, Françoise Grandclaude, welcomed the news that the trial was "finally taking place" and said she hoped it could offer "hope for the families and loved ones of victims affected by terrorism".

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56120459.... …. https://vk.com/wall-184585082_121

The 55-year-old's body was only recovered after months of searching

Algeria issues death sentence to suspect for French tourist beheading

February 20, 2021 at 11:37 am

An Algerian court has sentenced to death Abdel-Malek Hamzawy, the main defendant in the murder of French mountain guide Herve Gourdel who was beheaded by extremists in Algeria in 2014.

The trial was attended by the victim's widow and members of his family.

As per the indictment, 14 people are being prosecuted in this case; eight of them are suspected of participating in the kidnapping and beheading of the victim, while six are suspected of "not reporting the crime".

The defendant Hamzawy arrived in an ambulance and witnessed the trial in a wheelchair, accompanied by a medical team and members of the Gendarmerie's Special Forces to supervise him.

It is reported that Gourdel was kidnapped in the Jarjara reserve on 21 September, 2014, a day after his arrival into the country. A videotape was published three days later showing his beheading in an incident that shocked France and Algeria.

The Jund Al-Khilafah group had threatened to execute Gourdel after abducting him if France did not stop its airstrikes against Daesh.

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210220-algeria-issues-death-sentence-to-suspect-for-french-tourist-beheading/

Algeria sentences jihadist to death for French hiker’s murder

Issued on: 18/02/2021 - 21:21Modified: 18/02/2021 - 21:27

People gather in front of the Algerian Dar Al-Baida tribunal in the capital Algiers, where the Herve Gourdel murder trial was held. © Ryad Kramdi, AFP [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20210218-algerian-court-sentences-jihadist-in-french-hiker-s-murder-case-to-death]

An Algerian court on Thursday sentenced to death a jihadist for the kidnapping and beheading of French mountaineer Herve Gourdel six years ago after a high profile one-day trial.

The 2014 killing in Algeriaof Gourdel was claimed by a jihadist faction affiliated to the Islamic State group.

Gourdel, 55, was abducted while exploring the rugged massif in the North African nation's Djurdjura National Park, a draw for hikers, but also long a sanctuary for jihadists.

Three days after he disappeared, gunmen from militant group Jund al-Khilafa -- Arabic for Soldiers of the Caliphate -- published a gruesome video of his murder.

The trial opened on Thursday with 14 defendants, eight of whom were accused of being jihadists and were charged with Gourdel's kidnapping and murder.

However, only one of the eight, Abdelmalek Hamzaoui, is in custody. The other seven were tried and sentenced to death in absentia.

On Thursday, Hamzaoui was brought to court by ambulance in a wheelchair accompanied by a medical team and watched over by police special forces.

At the request of defence lawyers, the trial opening had been delayed for two weeks due to his ill health.

Questioned by the judge, Hamzaoui had denied having taken part in the abduction and killing of Gourdel, telling the court he was accused only to "close the case and please the French".

Hamzaoui was found guilty and sentenced to death, though there has been a moratorium on executions in Algeria since 1993.

'Still in shock'

Members of Gourdel's family, including his partner Francoise Grandclaude, were in the public gallery.

"I find it very difficult to talk about him (Gourdel), we are still in shock," Grandclaude said. "But I remember that there are a lot of inconsistencies in the words of the main accused."

Six others also on trial, accused of failing to inform authorities promptly of Gourdel's abduction, were all acquitted, according to an AFP journalist at the court.

Five were Gourdel's climbing companions and spent 14 hours in captivity along with him before being released.

Four of them formally identified Hamzaoui in court as being one of the kidnappers.

"I remember Herve's last look as they were forcibly taking him away," testified Hamza Boukamoum, one of his climbing guides.

"We tried to stop them, but they pushed us back saying: 'You don't care, he's not a Muslim'."

Their lawyers said they also were victims of the kidnapping, while a sixth man, whose car was stolen to transport Gourdel, was also cleared of charges.

Gourdel's murder sparked outrage in both France and Algeria, where it triggered memories of the 1992-2002 civil war between Islamists and the army that left some 200,000 dead.

The murder came in the wake of the Islamic State group's dramatic takeover of northern Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014.

Adventure enthusiast Gourdel had travelled to Algeria at the invitation of his climbing companions to try out a new climb.

His kidnappers demanded an end to air strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria by a US-led coalition that included France.

Paris had rejected their demand.

Gourdel's body was not recovered until January the following year after an operation involving some 3,000 Algerian troops.

His remains were found in a booby-trapped grave.

In February, his partner Grandclaude had welcomed that the trial was "finally taking place".

Saying it was "very personal", she said the process could offer "hope for the families and loved ones of victims affected by terrorism".

(AFP)   

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20210218-algerian-court-sentences-jihadist-in-french-hiker-s-murder-case-to-death

Francoise Grandclaude speaks outside court on Thursday at the trial of the men accused of murdering her partner

OTHER LINKS:

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2020/10/justice-for-19-year-old-chaima-sadou.html

https://news.yahoo.com/trial-opens-algeria-jihadist-beheading-115823990.html