the logbook of a former Bataclan hostage, week 22

Since September 8, 2021 the trial of the attacks of November 13 is held in Paris. David Fritz-Goeppinger, victim of these attacks is now a photographer and author. He agreed to share via this logbook his feelings, in image and in writing, during the long months of this river trial, which began on Wednesday September 8, 2021 before the special assize court in Paris. Here is his account of the 21st week of hearing.

>> The Diary of the Twentieth-First Week

Wednesday March 23. Today, the same good weather over the capital. The Place Dauphine terraces are crowded, at the same time I myself want to settle down there and forget about the trial. I find Bruno in the waiting room, he says to me: “Hey! I brought you my old phone, it will do the trick until you get yours back!” I laugh thanking him.

We are March 23 and today begins our long descent towards the analysis of the facts and the interrogation of the defendants on these. As I was saying to Gwendal just before the hearing resumed, I have become deeply convinced that we have waited six years for this moment to arrive and that finally, the moments preceding the attacks are dissected by the court and shown in broad daylight. This last point transforms my perception of the trial and the debates. Until September 8, the facts were known but the investigation was more or less secret and never spread out horizontally, as the Assize Court has been doing for six months.

As we are now used to, we find the Belgian investigators and their monotonous voices for a long presentation concerning the searches on the computer found in a dustbin in rue Max-Roos, in Schaerbeek (near one of the hideouts), March 23, 2016 – which continues the series of coincidences. Once the connection is established, the investigator projects a presentation that includes most of the findings on the laptop. In it, thousands of elements related to the propaganda of the Islamic State: religious songs, poems, photos of terrorists, various audios. The Belgian investigator also underlines the presence of a more technical file, named “mutafajirat” (explosives, in Arabic), which literally contains a list of chemical compounds related to the making of TATP. Some of the data is encrypted and the investigator specifies: “Encryption software was used (…) precautions were taken”. And to display on the screen the software in question, whose black logo is that of the Islamic State.

The computer is a real mine of information and each of the folders has other sub-folders which themselves contain others. In one of these folders, named “13-November”, the investigator details a tree of files that refer to possible groups of terrorists: “Omar* group, French group, Schiphol group, Iraqi group, Metro group”. And he details the content of each file: aerial photos of the Stade de France and the Bataclan, and a video of the performance hall in mp4 format viewed a few days before the 13th, as well as a file “Bataclan.jpg.” If we follow the logic of naming, each refers to the targets of the attacks of 13: the terraces, the Bataclan, the Stade de France … but two did not occur: Schiphol (the international airport of Amsterdam) and the metro . The inspector : “Maybe they used the previously thought scheme to strike in Belgium and Schiphol became Zaventem**.” On the subject of the airport, the investigator then evokes the interrogations of Osama Krayem by judge Isabelle Panou (heard on September 14 at V13). The accused allegedly replied to the judge that he “didn’t think” that an attack project was planned at the airport on November 13 and that he had gone there to see if there were “lockers and lockers” without carrying “dangerous things”. Sofien Ayari, also questioned by the Belgian judge about the probable attack at Schiphol, said: “I’ll talk about it one day, but I don’t know when.”

End of the presentation of the policeman, the court proceeds to a few questions but I am too focused on the writing to succeed in following. It’s the questions of Camille Hennetier, one of the three Advocates General, that make me raise my head. She raises the fact that the date of November 13 and the Bataclan target is set six days before, November 7. It’s only three days before the records “groups” are created and the “French group” is designated to attack the concert of the Eagles of Death Metal. The investigator agrees: “Absoutely.” The president announces the traditional recess of the afternoon.

Upon returning from it, I think back to the cloud of questions present in my mind since the attacks, the “when”, the “who” and the “why” are at the top of the list. It is the turn of the lawyers for the civil parties to address the investigator. It is master Aurélie Coviaux who begins and questions the Belgian police officer on the name of certain files present in the computer and their possible encryption. The man on screen tempers with an embarrassed laugh. “You know, I’m not a computer scientist but (…) with the encryption software, you can’t have access to everything.” Maître Coviaux continues by explaining the encoding steps one by one. The connection, unstable, cuts twice, the lawyer, joking: “Hope I haven’t been too long?” The Belgian U-shaped office back, the investigator launches: “I assure you, it’s not me who is running away!” The questions continue and master Chemla mentions the existence of a second computer cited by Mohamed Abrini. The investigator confirms but specifies: “The garbage collectors will see that one of the computers is broken. They will throw it in the dumpster and only keep the one that works and bring it back to the police. The second computer was never found or analyzed.” And the investigator added that a tablet was also found but that it had been formatted and that no exploitation could be made.

During the questions for the defence, Master Ronen takes the floor to ask the investigator: “How did the garbage collectors understand that on the computer there were elements linked to terrorism?” The investigator, embarrassed, laughs but tries to argue. “Yes, we imagine that they must have opened the computer, come across the desktop and click on one of the icons and come across the flag of the Islamic State…” Maître Olivia Ronen continues by pointing out all the security elements surrounding the computer in question: “How could a garbage collector just open the computer, fall on the desk while we are talking about encryption?” The Belgian policeman: “I understand your question but I can’t say more.”

I leave the auction room to get some fresh air and chat with members of the Court of Appeal in pink vests. Hard to follow today. I’ll try to keep a minimum of strength for next week, I can’t wait and at the same time scared of what I’m going to hear, I guess I’m used to it now.

I won’t be here tomorrow, duty calls me out.
See you Friday.

*Abu Omar was the kunya used as a nom de guerre by Abdelhamid Abaaoud..
** Zaventem, Brussels airport, one of the targets (along with the Malbeek metro station) of the attacks of March 22, 2016.