2010 Retrial
The sentences issued after the first trial were criticized as too lenient, and the attorney general, upon the instigation of Minister of Justice Michèle Alliot-Marie, announced an appeal of 14 out of the 27 verdicts, including those of the two main co-defendants, Samir Aït Abdelmalek (15 years, prosecution asked for 20 years) and Jean Christophe Soumbou (18 years, prosecution asked for 20 years).
Richard Prasquier, president of CRIF, France's main Jewish organization, said that a law may soon be available that would preclude closed-door trials in this type of case. "Perhaps in a year's time there will be a new trial, and perhaps it will be public." A Halimi relative said: "The important thing for me is not handing out heavier jail terms, honestly. The important thing is to open this to the press and public and make it a learning experience."
The retrial was officially announced Monday 10 July 2009. It started on 25 October 2010 and ended on December 17, 2010, with all convictions upheld and time added to some sentences.
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