“The verdict does not replace the lack of my brother and my father” recount Christophe Ruiz at France Bleu Drôme Ardèche. The trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015 in Paris and Saint-Denis which left 130 dead ended on Wednesday. Among the victims: Christophe’s brother, Rafaël, from Bourg-de-Péage. He was killed at the Bataclan. Their father never recovered and died in 2017. “It’s a step for the justice of men and of this country, and it’s very important. But no, _it’s not going to help me with any reconstruction_“ he admits.
He pursues : “My reconstruction, I’ve been doing it since November 14, 2015, at least I try to do it, surrounded by my partner and my friends. I also try to rebuild my mother every day.”
The whole trial was dignified, very respectful of the words of the victims and of everyone – Christophe Ruiz
Christophe Ruiz is a civil party in this trial. He wanted to humanize his brother Rafaël so that he was not just a name in a list. In this, “my testimony on October 21 last year was an important step”, “it was important to show the Court and the defendants the faces of the people who died in my family”. Moreover, he does not know if an accused really looked at these faces.
Faced with the condemned, he remembers not having felt anything. “They were ordinary people, human beings that you can meet on the corner of the street. I never thought of them.” Until the verdict this Wednesday evening, Christophe Ruiz claims to have followed the trial from afar. In any event, he didn’t expect answers. And if he was sometimes a little annoyed by their attitude, he is not disappointed. “Whatever the explanations or non-explanations they gave, they were never important. The important thing is my brother and the memory of my father”.