Nicholas Tsouflidis was not really kidnapped on the evening of March 8, 2017: this is what Ms.and Hovsep Dadaghalian, the defense attorney in the Paul Zaidan trial, in his closing argument before the jury.
Posted at 5:05 p.m.
“Do you really believe there was a kidnapping?” “asked M.and Dadaghalian to the members of the jury, Thursday, at the Laval courthouse.
The lawyer used different formulas to ask the jury to ask themselves questions about the testimony of Nicholas Tsouflidis which, according to him, was full of implausibilities.
“How plausible is his story?” “, asked in particular Mand Dadaghalian, on the account of Mr. Tsouflidis, who told during his testimony, a few weeks ago, that he had been transported by the kidnappers in the trunk of a car, from where he had managed to compose 911.
According to the lawyer, it is difficult to believe that Mr. Tsouflidis failed to give his position to the emergency services during his call.
He also noted other incongruities in his account. “Why are there so many contradictions in the testimony of Mr. Tsouflidis? “, he questioned.
Nicholas Tsouflidis, president of the restaurant chain Chez Cora, maintains that three men kidnapped him from his home in Mirabel. He would have remained chained for a few hours in the basement of a residence before being released on a road in Laval, shaken, but unscathed.
Paul Zaidan, 52, ex-franchisee of Chez Cora, is accused of having organized this kidnapping and of having demanded a ransom of 11 million dollars from Cora Tsouflidou, mother of Nicholas Tsouflidis and founder of the popular restaurant chain.
His jury trial opened last November at the Laval courthouse.
On Wednesday, the Crown prosecutor, Ms.and Karine Dalphond, had tried to demonstrate that all the evidence and all the testimony incriminated Paul Zaidan.
The argument of M.and Hovsep Dadaghalian continues Friday morning at the Laval courthouse.
Thereafter, the jury will receive its directives from judge François Dadour and will be sequestered until it arrives at a verdict.