Trial of burglars who invaded UK retirees' home in south-west France begins
Husband was knocked unconscious before intruders stole items including jewelry and cash
The trial is expected to last for five days. Inset shows location of the village where burglary took place
sylv1rob1/Shutterstock/Screen capture of Google Maps
The trial of four men accused of violently attacking a British couple in 2022 by armed burglary in Lot-et-Garonne in south-west France begins today (September 18).
The couple, now aged 83 and 76, were in bed at their home in the village of Hautefage-la-Tour when they were woken by noises downstairs.
When investigating they were confronted on the stairs by two masked men, armed with knives.
The man was hit and knocked out, while the woman had a necklace she was wearing ripped from her neck.
The burglars stayed in the house for some 15 minutes before leaving with mobile phones, jewelry, and cash, worth an estimated total of 鈧�4,000.
The couple, who were traumatised to the point that they left their home in France and returned to live in the UK, will be represented at the trial in Agen by lawyer Sarah Labadie.
鈥淭hey want to get answers to the questions they have, why they were targeted,鈥� said Maitre Labadie.
鈥淭hey were left traumatised. In the summer they can no longer stay in their house without going inside and locking themselves in.鈥�
Since being arrested two of the accused have been kept in prison.
One of them, Tarik El Malouani, 34, has acknowledged his role in the attack.
His lawyer said that he now recognised that he had broken three lives, those of his victims and his own, that he deeply regretted doing so and was prepared to accept the judgment of the courts.
Fouad Faize, 39, is also in detention after being accused of the crime.
Yslem Adib, 34, and Abderrahmane Gomri, 30, are both out on bail and deny involvement in the incident.
Yslem Adib鈥檚 lawyer said he was not aware of the nature of the burglary and is puzzled why he is in court with the others.
Court officials cleared five days for the trial, with a verdict expected on September 24.
Investigators found that the four men, all of whom were illegal drug users, knew each other before the break in.
The maximum sentence the men face is a 20-year jail term.
However, in cases such as this in France the actual sentence is often crafted so convicts who have been in prison for over a year awaiting trial are released, or serve a short sentence before being released on probation.
They are often ordered to pay compensation to victims.
Statistics show that the Lot-et-Garonne department suffers from fewer burglaries than many neighbouring departments, although it does not have the lowest figures in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
