Main defendant in diplomat murder trial claims ignorance
Published: Friday, Dec 13th 2024, 13:40
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At the Federal Criminal Court, the main defendant in the murder trial of an Egyptian diplomat in 1995 claimed ignorance. The 55-year-old car salesman sometimes had difficulty answering the court president's precise questions.
The presiding judge Jean-Luc Bacher recalled the material elements that incriminate the accused and his partner at the time. Silencers, DNA and a fingerprint were found at the crime scene in Geneva. This silencer had been made from foam from car headrests and self-adhesive tape.
The defendant confirmed that he had never seen this object. During the investigation, he had expressed the suspicion that he might have picked it up somewhere.
The presiding judge reminded him of a sentence he had quietly exchanged with his lawyer when the police had first confronted him with these facts: "I was caught up with technology..." The defendant said that these words had been misinterpreted, that he had only meant to express his ignorance of forensic techniques and a form of fatigue.
The car salesman, who has criminal records in France and Switzerland, is charged with the 1995 murder in Geneva, multiple rapes, false imprisonment, simple assault, threats, depiction of violence and pornography. He also has to answer for various financial offenses. A 49-year-old woman is also accused of being an accessory to murder.
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