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| Trial Concludes for French Men Accused of Jihadism | Trial Concludes for French Men Accused of Jihadism |
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| PARIS — The first trial of French citizens accused of trying to join the rebellion in Syria concluded Friday after lawyers for the government and the defendants presented their arguments in a Paris courtroom. | PARIS — The first trial of French citizens accused of trying to join the rebellion in Syria concluded Friday after lawyers for the government and the defendants presented their arguments in a Paris courtroom. |
| The judge in the trial, which began Thursday, said he would render a verdict and sentence the men on March 7. | The judge in the trial, which began Thursday, said he would render a verdict and sentence the men on March 7. |
| The three men — Youssef Ettaoujar, 26; Fares Farsi, 21; and Salah-Eddine Gourmat, 24 — were indicted under a law enacted in 2012 that makes it a crime to have the intent to prepare terrorist acts. All three are Muslims; Mr. Farsi and Mr. Gourmat carried Algerian passports as well as French passports, while Mr. Ettaoujar carried French and Moroccan passports. | The three men — Youssef Ettaoujar, 26; Fares Farsi, 21; and Salah-Eddine Gourmat, 24 — were indicted under a law enacted in 2012 that makes it a crime to have the intent to prepare terrorist acts. All three are Muslims; Mr. Farsi and Mr. Gourmat carried Algerian passports as well as French passports, while Mr. Ettaoujar carried French and Moroccan passports. |
| All worked in low-paid jobs and live in working-class neighborhoods of Paris or its suburbs. | All worked in low-paid jobs and live in working-class neighborhoods of Paris or its suburbs. |
| They were apprehended at the airport in St. Etienne in central France in May 2012 as they were boarding a flight to Gaziantep in Turkey, a border city 60 miles from Syria’s largest city, Aleppo. | They were apprehended at the airport in St. Etienne in central France in May 2012 as they were boarding a flight to Gaziantep in Turkey, a border city 60 miles from Syria’s largest city, Aleppo. |
| One said that they were inspired by a radical Islamist of Senegalese origin, whom they met through Facebook and later in person in the French city of Nice. | One said that they were inspired by a radical Islamist of Senegalese origin, whom they met through Facebook and later in person in the French city of Nice. |
| The police said they found holsters, bulletproof vests, night-vision goggles and cash in the men’s luggage when they were picked up in St. Etienne. Photos of Osama bin Laden and Qaeda flags were found in their homes. | The police said they found holsters, bulletproof vests, night-vision goggles and cash in the men’s luggage when they were picked up in St. Etienne. Photos of Osama bin Laden and Qaeda flags were found in their homes. |
| Mr. Ettaoujar, the apparent leader of the group, is currently in detention because he had previously gone to Mali and was alleged to have tried to participate in terrorist acts there as well. Prosecutors said they worried that he might try to leave again unless he were detained. The other two defendants are free. | |
| In a related development on Friday, an investigating magistrate in Paris placed two teenage boys, ages 15 and 16, under formal investigation on suspicion of conspiring to commit terrorist acts, Reuters reported. The boys, the youngest suspects to possibly face prosecution on such a charge in France, were arrested in Turkey and accused of trying to join Islamist rebel groups in Syria. Lawyers for the boys disputed the allegations, Reuters said. | |
| The French government is a strong supporter of the Syrian rebels and the first Western government to recognize them, in late 2012. The French government also led the call last year for airstrikes against Assad government targets in the wake of the discovery that chemical weapons were used against civilians. | The French government is a strong supporter of the Syrian rebels and the first Western government to recognize them, in late 2012. The French government also led the call last year for airstrikes against Assad government targets in the wake of the discovery that chemical weapons were used against civilians. |
| Much of the evidence against the adult suspects was gathered through wiretaps and searches of computers seized in their homes. | |
| Under the law, the men could each be sentenced to as many as 10 years in prison. However, the government prosecutor asked for six years for Mr. Ettaoujar, four for Mr. Gourmat and three for Mr. Farsi. | Under the law, the men could each be sentenced to as many as 10 years in prison. However, the government prosecutor asked for six years for Mr. Ettaoujar, four for Mr. Gourmat and three for Mr. Farsi. |
| Julien Fresnault, the lawyer for Mr. Ettaoujar, said his client had not thought hard about what he was going to do or the potential consequences. | |
| “Concretely, what they were going to do there, we don’t know,” he said. | “Concretely, what they were going to do there, we don’t know,” he said. |
| The lawyer for Mr. Farsi, the youngest of the three, asked for his acquittal, describing him as a confused 19-year-old at the time of his arrest whose parents were in the midst of a divorce. Lacking confidence and having promised to go with the other two to Turkey with the goal of fighting in Syria, he was afraid to go back on his word, his lawyer said. | The lawyer for Mr. Farsi, the youngest of the three, asked for his acquittal, describing him as a confused 19-year-old at the time of his arrest whose parents were in the midst of a divorce. Lacking confidence and having promised to go with the other two to Turkey with the goal of fighting in Syria, he was afraid to go back on his word, his lawyer said. |