Peter Cherif is a “Frenchman” who is reputed to be the mastermind behind the attack on Charlie Hebdo in January of 2015. Interestingly, although Mr. Cherif is a culture-enricher, he was born in Paris to an Afro-Caribbean Catholic father and a Tunisian mother. He repudiated his Catholic background in his early twenties and converted to Islam, and then went on to pursue a career of violent jihad under the umbrella of Al Qaeda.

Mr. Cherif was arrested in 2018 and has been on trial for several weeks in Paris for his role in the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Today the court handed down a guilty verdict and sentenced him to life in prison.

Many thanks to Gary Fouse for translating this article from Le Figaro:

Charlie Hebdo attack: Verdict expected in trial of jihadist Peter Cherif, associate of the attackers

The verdict for the person considered the “architect” of the Charlie Hebdo attack will come down this evening. The prosecution has asked for life imprisonment for him.

The Special Criminal Court of Paris is rendering its verdict Thursday evening in the trial of the jihadist Peter Cherif, the “architect” of the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015, according to the prosecution which has asked for life imprisonment for him. At the end of almost three weeks of trial, the court retired to deliberate in the late morning.

On Wednesday, the two prosecutors present at the trial requested life imprisonment for him, asking that a minimum of 22 years be served. The attorneys for Peter Cherif, in their pleas Thursday morning, denounced what they termed a “fixed match”. For Attorney Nabil El Ouchikli, “The purpose of the public prosecutor, is to eliminate Peter Cherif, and for that, we are all obliged to condemn him in relation to the attacks” in January of 2015.

The 42-year-old defendant has been on trial since September for association with criminal terrorist criminals between 2011 and 2018, the period of his presence in Yemen with Al Qaida Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). He is accused of having joined this jihadist organization, and in that framework, having participated with his childhood friend, Cherif Kouachi, in the planning of the attack committed on January 7, 2015 against the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, in which twelve people were murdered. AQAP claimed credit for the attack.

“Maximum” danger

He also appeared in the 2011 organized gang kidnapping of three French nationals, members of the NGO Triangle Generation Humanitaire, which lasted more than five months.

Even though he exercised his right to silence during most of the trial, Peter Cherif admitted being one of the jailers of the three humanitarians, having served as “translator” to interface between the hostages and their Yemeni kidnappers from Al Qaida. On the other hand, he denied having played a role in the attack against Charlie Hebdo.

On Wednesday, the prosecutors had asked that he be declared “guilty” of all charges against him, painting a portrait for more than 4 hours of an “integral jihadist” who was “the cornerstone of planning” for the attack on Charlie Hebdo, the danger of whom according to them, is still “maximum”.

* Update: The verdict is in. Life imprisonment with a minimum 22 years to be served.

Headline: Charlie Hebdo attack: The jihadist Peter Cherif is sentenced to life imprisonment.