At the trial for the murder of police officer Eric Masson, the Avignon prosecutor requested life imprisonment against the main suspect who admitted to being the perpetrator of the shooting. The verdict should be delivered in the coming hours.
He ended up admitting to being responsible for the death of police officer Eric Masson, more than two years after the events. Ilias Akoudad, aged 23, is on trial for “murder and attempted murder of a person holding public authority” for having shot point-blank against the police officer in Avignon, during an intervention by the police officer on a deal point, May 5, 2021.
Throughout the investigation period and the first week of the trial, which began on February 19, Ilias Akoudad continued to deny being the author of the fatal shots and assured that he had mistaken the two police officers for drug dealers at the time of the facts. But he finally admitted to having shot Eric Masson during the hearing on Monday February 26. The accused, however, maintains that he was unaware of the police officer’s profession when he aimed his weapon at him.
Ilias Akoudad’s defense did not contact the Avignon public prosecutor who requested the maximum sentence during these requisitions this Thursday, February 29: life imprisonment accompanied by a security period of 22 years. “Éric Masson was executed without warning by an individual drunk with violence, proud of the gesture accomplished,” declared the magistrate during the hearing. According to Florence Galtier, “these confessions were perfectly orchestrated, perfectly publicized” with the aim of avoiding the 22-year security period, reports Le Parisien. “We did not need his statement. By the geolocation of his phone, we are absolutely sure and certain that he was there, that he had sold a dose shortly before. We are sure and certain that it is he who fired with the gunshot residue found on these clothes similar to the projectile fired,” added the representative of the prosecution to support her argument.
The prosecution, not only to request the maximum sentence, undermined the defense of Ilias Akoudad who claims to have ignored Eric Masson’s profession and justifies the possession of a firearm by the fact of having suffered several attempts shooting in the past. When the accused explained, this Wednesday, February 28, that he had acted out of panic, the prosecutor disputed: “Everyone knows who is a dealer and who is a police officer. At no time can we confuse each other. In the neighborhood, Everyone knows who’s who.” The defense lawyers must still make their closing arguments this Thursday, February 29. The verdict will then be rendered, according to Le Parisien, during the evening or this Friday morning.
