The trial of the murdered French tourists begins in Algeria

The murder case of a French citizen has started in Algeria. However, due to the health status of the accused, the trial has been shifted. 

Gourdel murder case brought to the court 

An Algerian court has started the trial of a case that involved the 2014 kidnapping and beheading of a French citizen. This was done by an armed group that has related links with an Islamic coven in the Arab world.

 However, in court, there is only one of the accused who was present. He was a Hill instructor, named Herve Gourdel who is a part of an eight men terrorist group. Close relatives of the accused were present as a sign of support and can be seen on the public stand. 

The major defendant in the case, Abdelmalek Hamzaoui was transferred to the court via a wheelchair with a group of doctors and security officials. After a request by the defense counsel, this case has to be suspended for another 14 days because of the defendant's health conditions.

Death penalty likely, if accused is convicted 

If they succeed in convicting him, he will likely face the death penalty because of his grave actions. In other news, six other defendants present in court have been charged for not informing the necessary authorities immediately after Mr. Gourdel was abducted. 

Six out of the accused were Gourdel’s close friends and spent time with him when he was captured. The seventh was charged for refusing to report that his car was stolen and was used to transport the killers to a secret location. If they are found guilty of the crime, they could face up to four years in jail. 

The head of the kidnapping group was killed in December by the Algerian forces after being tipped off. Gourdel's body wasn't found until January after a search rescue of about 4,000  troops took to the mountain.