EXPLAINER: What's at stake in the 2015 Paris attacks trial?

PARIS – France is putting connected proceedings 20 men accused successful the Islamic State group's 2015 attacks connected Paris that near 130 radical dormant and hundreds injured. The proceedings statesman Wednesday successful an tremendous custom-designed chamber.

Nine gunmen and termination bombers struck wrong minutes of each different astatine the nationalist shot stadium, the Bataclan performance hallway and restaurants and cafes connected Nov. 13, 2015.

The lone survivor of the extremist compartment from that nighttime is among those being tried for the deadliest onslaught successful France since World War II. The same IS network went connected to onslaught Brussels months later, sidesplitting different 32 people.

WHO'S ON THE STAND?

Twenty men are charged, but lone 14 volition beryllium connected trial. Chief among them is Salah Abdeslam, who ditched his car and a malfunctioning termination vest and yet fled to a hideout successful his hometown of Brussels. Five of the six men being tried successful absentia are presumed dead; the whereabouts of 1 antheral is unknown.

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Most of the defendants look the maximum condemnation of beingness successful situation if convicted of complicity successful the attacks. Only Abdeslam is charged with murder.

WHY THE SPECIAL COURTROOM?

This is the biggest proceedings successful French history. Among the plantiffs are astir 1,800 victims, including survivors who suffered carnal oregon intelligence harm and families whose loved ones died that night. A full of 330 lawyers are representing them and the defendants.

The modern courtroom was constructed wrong the storied 13th-century Palais de Justice successful Paris, wherever Marie Antoinette and Emile Zola faced trial, among others. The chamber, which has airy wood and tremendous screens, tin location 550 people, 12 defendants and 10 cameras. Multiple overflow rooms volition transportation unrecorded broadcasts of the proceedings.

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For the archetypal time, victims tin besides person a unafraid audio nexus to perceive from location if they want, with a 30-minute delay.

HOW WILL THE TRIAL UNFOLD?

The proceedings is scheduled to past 9 months. The period of September volition beryllium dedicated to laying retired the police and forensic evidence. October volition beryllium fixed implicit to victims' testimony. From November to December, officials including erstwhile French President François Hollande volition testify, arsenic volition relatives of the attackers.

From January to March 2022, the defendants volition beryllium questioned pursuing the chronology of the events, from the preparations to the attacks and their aftermath. Abdeslam volition beryllium questioned aggregate times.

In aboriginal April, experts volition springiness intelligence assessments. Closing arguments travel done May. The verdict is scheduled astatine the extremity of May.

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WHAT IS SECURITY LIKE FOR SUCH A MASSIVE EVENT?

The courthouse is connected the land astatine the halfway of Paris, l’île de la Cité. All driving, parking and adjacent pedestrian postulation volition beryllium blocked from astir of the surrounding streets and on the banks of the Seine River. There volition beryllium antithetic entries for antithetic parties to the case, who look searches each clip they participate the gathering and astatine aggregate checkpoints.

The proceedings starts each time astatine 12:30 p.m. to debar having to hunt everyone again aft a midday luncheon break.

WILL THE TRIAL BE BROADCAST?

None of the proceedings volition beryllium televised oregon rebroadcast for the public, but it volition beryllium recorded for archival purposes. The videos won’t beryllium accessible to the wide public. Cameras are restricted to filming extracurricular the proceedings room.

Video signaling is amerciable successful French courts and has lone been allowed for a fistful of cases considered to beryllium of humanities value. The attacks proceedings volition beryllium the 13th lawsuit deemed so. In the past, France has recorded trials of Nazi officials and collaborators including Klaus Barbie, Rwandan officials progressive successful the Tutsi genocide and figures linked to Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship.

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The astir caller recorded tribunal proceedings were past year, for the January 2015 attacks against the Charlie Hebdo paper successful Paris and a kosher supermarket.

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