A court in Lyon, France, has begun its trial against a 55-year-old man to determine whether antisemitism was a motive behind the murder of his 89-year-old Jewish neighbor in 2022.
While the defendant, Rachid Kheniche, denies antisemitic motivation, he has so far been charged with aggravated murder because of the victim’s religion.
The incident took place in May 2022, when Kheniche threw his neighbor, René Hadjadj, from the 17th floor of his building. Kheniche admitted to the act, but said he was having a paranoid attack on the day of the murder. Nevertheless, following two psychiatric assessments, Kheniche was found to be criminally responsible.
The murder is recognized, the antisemitic character is challenged
“The murder itself is recognized, it is the antisemitic character that is contested [by the defendant],” defense lawyer Océane Pilloix told AFP.
“The anti-Jewish character is totally proven, materially and morally,” said Franck Serfati, a lawyer for two Jewish associations that have filed civil suits – the National Bureau of Vigilance against Antisemitism and the Jewish Observatory of France. The International League Against Racism and the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France are also being represented in court.
Sefarti added that Kheniche was a neighbor Hadjadj knew closely. “He knew he was Jewish. He attacked him because he was Jewish,” says Serfati.
The lawyer also drew comparisons with the murder of Sarah Halimi, a Jewish woman in her sixties who was killed in 2017 in Paris by her 27-year-old Muslim neighbour.
In what was an extremely controversial ruling by France’s Supreme Court of Appeals, the murderer, Kobili Traoré, was found to be not criminally responsible for his actions because he smoked marijuana before he committed the crime.
The decision was widely considered a miscarriage of justice and sparked protests worldwide.