The Paris trial of 20 men accused of involvement or complicity in the November 2015 attacks which cost 131 people their lives has again been adjourned for a week following positive coronavirus tests among the prisoners. Hearings are now scheduled to resume on 1 March.
The latest Covid cases concern the accused Mohammed Bakkali and Sofien Ayari. Both tested positive on Sunday 20 February, and have been placed in isolation for seven days.
This is the second Covid-provoked postponement in as many weeks.
While French law allows those accused to refuse to take part in their trial . . . the prisoner Osama Krayem has been boycotting the Paris courtroom since late November . . . the criminal code insists that suspects must be in a position to attend.
The trial, which opened on 8 September last, has now accumulated four weeks' delay.
The latest adjournment suggests that a verdict is unlikely before July.
