Six Algerians Handed Prison Sentences for Trafficking Moroccan Minors in France

French security personnel. (AFP)
French security personnel. (AFP)
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Six Algerians Handed Prison Sentences for Trafficking Moroccan Minors in France

French security personnel. (AFP)
French security personnel. (AFP)

The Criminal Court in Paris sentenced on Saturday six Algerians to imprisonment from one year to six years for luring unaccompanied Moroccan minors to drug addiction and pushing them to commit theft.

Taking into account the requests of the public prosecutor, the court deemed these acts “particularly serious” given the “physical and psychological harm caused to the Moroccan minors.”

The verdict also imposed a permanent ban on five of the convicted individuals from entering French territory, with some of them ordered to depart before the trial.

The six convicted adults for human and drug trafficking were ordered to collectively pay an amount of 20 thousand euros in compensation for twelve minors who claimed damages.

The six Algerians were convicted of supplying drugs to the Moroccan victims between 2021 and 2022 and compelling them to commit thefts against tourists in exchange for mind-altering substances.

The court stated that there was no evidence to prove the existence of a “hierarchical and organized” network. Still, it confirmed that the investigation revealed “a horizontal operating system for the gang.”

The presiding judge explained that human trafficking involved exploiting the physical, psychological, and social vulnerabilities of unaccompanied minors who had placed their trust in these Arabic-speaking adults under the pretext of “being close to their community.”

The presiding judge indicated that the “modus operandi” counted on “enslaving the minors” and turning them into “tools.”

A seventh person was sentenced to one year in prison and fined €5,000 for narcotics trafficking without human trafficking.



Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)

Politicians in Beirut said they have not received any credible information about Washington resuming its mediation efforts towards reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon despite reports to the contrary.

Efforts came to a halt after US envoy Amos Hochstein’s last visit to Beirut three weeks ago.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed the reports as media fodder, saying nothing official has been received.

Lebanon is awaiting tangible proposals on which it can build its position, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The only credible proposal on the table is United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, whose articles must be implemented in full by Lebanon and Israel, “not just Lebanon alone,” he stressed.

Resolution 1701 was issued to end the 2006 July war between Hezbollah and Israel and calls for removing all weapons from southern Lebanon and that the only armed presence there be restricted to the army and UN peacekeepers.

Western diplomatic sources in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat that Berri opposes one of the most important articles of the proposed solution to end the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

He is opposed to the German and British participation in the proposed mechanism to monitor the implementation of resolution 1701. The other participants are the United States and France.

Other sources said Berri is opposed to the mechanism itself since one is already available and it is embodied in the UN peacekeepers, whom the US and France can join.

The sources revealed that the solution to the conflict has a foreign and internal aspect. The foreign one includes Israel, the US and Russia and seeks guarantees that would prevent Hezbollah from rearming itself. The second covers Lebanese guarantees on the implementation of resolution 1701.

Berri refused to comment on the media reports, but told Asharq Al-Awsat that this was the first time that discussions are being held about guarantees.

He added that “Israel is now in crisis because it has failed to achieve its military objectives, so it has resorted to more killing and destruction undeterred.”

He highlighted the “steadfastness of the UN peacekeepers in the South who have refused to leave their positions despite the repeated Israeli attacks.”