The appeal trial of Audrey Mondjehi, convicted of helping supply the firearm used in the 2018 Strasbourg Christmas market attack, opened on Monday before the Special Criminal Court of Appeal in Paris.
Mondjehi, now 44, is contesting the 30-year prison sentence handed down to him in 2024 for obtaining a gun used by Cherif Chekatt in the December 2018 attack in which he killed five people and injured 11 others.
Mondjehi's sentence includes a mandatory minimum term of two-thirds of the sentence during which no early release is possible. He faces life imprisonment if found guilty on appeal.
Chekatt was shot dead by police after a two-day manhunt.
French court hands Strasbourg attack plotter 30-year prison term
Knowledge of radicalisation
At the heart of the appeal lies a key question – whether Mondjehi knew about Chekatt’s radicalisation.
The first court ruled that he “was aware of the violent radicalisation” of Chekatt, a man he had known since the two met in prison in 2007. Mondjehi has consistently denied this, maintaining that he believed Chekatt was planning a robbery rather than a terrorist act.
He admitted helping Chekatt obtain a weapon from members of the settled Roma community, but insists he had no knowledge of any extremist intent.
Prosecutors, however, argue that the nature of their relationship and Chekatt’s known background make this claim difficult to sustain. Chekatt, a repeat offender, had been flagged on France’s “S list” – a security watchlist for individuals considered a potential threat to national security.
Strasbourg terror suspects in court over deadly 2018 Christmas attack
Night that shocked Strasbourg
On the evening of 11 December, 2018, Chekatt launched his attack in the heart of Strasbourg, targeting the city’s famous Christmas market, which attracts around 3 million visitors each year.
After pledging allegiance to the Islamic State armed group, he opened fire on passers-by in crowded streets, shouting “Allah Akbar” – “God is great”. The attack left five people dead and 11 injured, sending shockwaves across France and beyond.
Chekatt fled the scene, triggering a manhunt that ended two days later when police tracked him down in Strasbourg’s Neudorf district, where he had grown up. He was shot dead during the operation.
Mondjehi is being tried for complicity in murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise.
The broader case has also involved several other figures. Two intermediaries were previously convicted of criminal conspiracy, though without the terrorist element being upheld, and received sentences of four and five years respectively, partly suspended. A third man was acquitted.
Meanwhile, the alleged weapons seller, an elderly man identified as Albert B., will not stand trial. A medical assessment at the end of 2025 concluded that his health was definitively incompatible with appearing in court.
The appeal trial is expected to run for several weeks, with a verdict due on 17 April.
(with newswires)
