Brahim Aouissaoui, the terrorist who murdered three Christians in Nice’s Notre Dame Basilica in 2020, has been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The court confirmed his jihadist ideology and premeditated intent to kill 'infidels'.
On 29th October 2020, as OIDAC Europe reported at the time, three Christians were murdered and several others injured by an Islamic terrorist in the Basilica of Notre Dame in Nice.
On 10 February this year, a special court set up to deal with such crimes opened the trial of Brahim Aouissaoui, the terrorist responsible for the attack. The first hearing focused on the social climate in France at the time, when Christians were the main target of terrorist organisations operating in Europe. Commenting on this criminal trend, a police officer from the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI) said: "This act was clearly aimed at Christians, he could have attacked anyone in the street or on the terrace of a café". Given the religious motive behind the attacks, the President of the French Bishops' Conference wants the Catholic Church to be recognised as a civil party in this trial.
On 26 February, Brahim Aouissaoui was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, the maximum penalty under French law. The court acknowledged that the suspect supported 'jihadist ideology' and that he was 'an extremely dangerous man' whose 'intention to kill cannot be denied'. The judges also said that his actions were a planned and premeditated attack to kill as many 'infidels' as possible.