Six Algerians have been on trial in Paris since yesterday, Tuesday, charged with luring unaccompanied Moroccan minors into drug addiction and coercing them into committing thefts, according to the French news agency.
These individuals are facing charges of human trafficking with aggravated circumstances, trafficking, possession of stolen goods, and drugs in 2021 and 2022.
A seventh man is being tried for possession of drugs and stolen goods without being involved in human trafficking.
The trial, which was originally scheduled for December, was postponed due to a procedural error.
These men, aged between 23 and 39, are represented by lawyers for the twelve unaccompanied minors who joined as civil parties.
None of the affected youths attended the trial, “fearing retaliatory reactions,” as the responsible representative explained. However, one of them will provide a testimony via video.
The presiding judge showed pictures of these youths taken during multiple arrests for theft. Their faces appear exhausted, with some bearing signs of physical abuse.
“I’m not talking about the paths of all the minors; it’s almost the same,” said the judge. “But it’s extremely complicated. We can understand that they are lucky to still be alive.”
In front of the court’s arch, Guillaume Lardenois, a director of an association that cares for these young people, described the “wandering journey” these youths have experienced, from crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Morocco or Algeria to arriving at Trocadéro Square, one of the most tourist-attracting places in the French capital, where they entered a “system” that rapidly pushed them into “real homelessness.”
The six adults are accused of providing them with mind-altering substances, initially for free, and later in exchange for thefts.
A Moroccan child of ten told the police, according to the judge, “They told me to take this; it will help you.”
Another said, “They gave us drugs and alcohol and asked us to steal, or else they would beat us,” referring to their Algerian “guardians,” who were reportedly providing them with cigarettes and drugs in exchange for the loot they obtained from robbing tourists near the Eiffel Tower.
The trial is expected to continue until Friday.
