‘A big mistake’: The couple who raised a false attack alarm on July 19 to avoid missing a train, causing chaos around the train station in Lille in northern France, were sentenced on Thursday (July 31). The man was given a closed prison sentence and his partner was given a suspended sentence.
‘A big mistake’: The couple who raised a false attack alarm on July 19 to avoid missing a train, causing chaos around the train station in Lille in northern France, were sentenced on Thursday (July 31). The man was sentenced to a closed prison sentence and his companion was sentenced to a suspended sentence.
At the start of their summer vacation in Europe, the couple, who were visiting their fouryearold son, sent a text message to the train’s management company, the National Company of French Railways (SNCF), claiming there was a “terrorist on the ParisLille train.” “.
The news triggered the mobilization of the Raid, an elite counterterrorism unit, and the GIGN, a tactical intervention group of the French police, as well as the suspension of rail services and the evacuation of the two train stations in Lille for four hours.
After an apology, the father, a 30yearold delivery man who already had a criminal record, was sentenced to 16 months in prison, eight of which in the closed regime. The man had been convicted by the police 18 times for making death threats, robbery and domestic violence, but had formed a stable relationship with his partner despite the ban on contact between them imposed by the judiciary.
His partner, a 27yearold carer, was given a suspended sentence of 12 months because the crime committed is considered to be without violence or serious threat and the defendant is not a repeat offender of an intentional crime. The woman said she was “relieved” after the hearing.
“I want to apologize for this big mistake: we only think about ourselves,” she said in court.
“We are neither terrorists nor monsters, we act without thinking about the consequences,” he explained through tears.
The prosecution noted that “a thousand passengers were affected by their stupidity” and that they “would have arrived on time” if they had taken the next train. The couple were arrested as soon as they got off at Lille train station.
losses
The couple had to travel about 700 km from Bordeaux, where they live, to PasdeCalais, their region of origin and the home of their son, who was in the care of relatives.
After a previous train was delayed, they feared that they would miss the 8:45 a.m. journey from Paris to Lille and thus miss the subsequent connections.
“We both looked on the Internet, we had the same idea, to send a message about a terrorist,” the young woman explained, admitting that she had dictated the text message sent from her companion’s cell phone. They then turned off their phones to avoid being located.
“We didn’t know the consequences,” she revealed.
SNCF requested more than ? 20,000 (approximately R$107,000) compensation, a provisional amount pending the determination of the total damage, which can be claimed by travelers.
The fire department, which mobilized 17 people, and the HautsdeFrance region, which finances the region’s trains, are demanding ? 2,700 and ? 2,500 euros in damages each.