Marseille triple murder trial: faced with the mothers, a defendant names the gunman
Before the Bouches-du-Rhône assize court in Aix-en-Provence, the testimony of the mothers of three young men killed in late 2020, including the brother of activist Amine Kessaci, shook the dock on Monday. One defendant implicated two co-defendants, who dispute the allegations.
After more than two weeks of denials, the dock cracked. On Monday 2 November, before the Bouches-du-Rhône assize court in Aix-en-Provence, the mothers of three young men killed in an ambush in December 2020, against the backdrop of a war between drug traffickers in Marseille, came to describe their grief. Their accounts triggered scenes unseen since the trial opened: defendants with heads bowed, tears, and apologies addressed to all the mothers.
Five men are on trial for this triple murder: Amine Oualane, Karim Harrat, Nadjim Ahamada Mbae, Ahmed Zakaria Bensaci and Malik Kariba. They are presumed innocent until tried.
Two dead
Among the victims is Brahim Chabane, the elder brother of Amine Kessaci, an anti-drug-trafficking activist who has become a deputy mayor of Marseille. His mother, Ouassila Benhmadi-Kessaci, has since lost a second son: Mehdi, her 20-year-old youngest, murdered in November 2025 although he had no involvement in drug trafficking. From the witness stand, she cried out that she had two dead sons, Mehdi and Brahim.
She described her night-time outings trying to stop her eldest from slipping into dealing, and a pain that never leaves her. Speaking of her youngest son, she refused any forgiveness, saying she could not forgive because they had killed an innocent young man who had passed his baccalauréat and wanted to become a police officer. She now chairs the association Conscience. The mothers of the two other victims, including that of Réda Khaldi, also testified to their distress.
Her lawyer, Pierre-Olivier Sur, summed up the hearing by saying that the defendants had been unable to resist this outpouring of emotion, according to franceinfo.
A defendant implicates two co-defendants
It was then that Zakaria Bensaci broke his silence. According to 20 Minutes, he named Amine Oualane in court as the gunman and Karim Harrat as the person who ordered the killing. According to investigators, Amine Oualane became one of the leaders of the DZ Mafia; Karim Harrat is described as a figure of Marseille's drug-related organised crime. Both deny any involvement in the ambush.
In another striking moment, Malik Kariba stood up to admit having cut up a body. He said he had been forced to do it and was afraid, according to franceinfo. The father of one victim then challenged him from the public gallery, demanding that he say who had given him the order. The presiding judge adjourned the hearing.
The rest of the trial
These statements will have to be weighed against the other evidence in the case. The defendants are due to be questioned one by one from Tuesday. The verdict, initially expected on 6 November, could be postponed to 13 November given the length of the proceedings, according to 20 Minutes.
