The Vaucluse Assize Court in Avignon has upheld the aggravating circumstance of homophobia in the trial of two homophobic ambushes that targeted gay men in 2023, one of the victims having died.
Six people on the defendants’ bench, five convictions. At the end of a week of hearings, the Vaucluse Assize Court, in Avignon, delivered its verdict this Monday, June 8, in the trial of two homophobic ambushes that occurred in the region in 2023, one of which was fatal. The two main defendants, Aymène L. and Intissar A., aged 24 and 25 respectively, were sentenced to 22 years in prison for murder with an aggravating circumstance linked to the victims’ sexual orientation. Their two girlfriends, tried for complicity in theft, were also found guilty. The fifth defendant, Malek E., 24, receives ten years of criminal confinement for extortion and kidnapping with a weapon, while the sixth is acquitted.
According to a disturbingly familiar modus operandi, the gang used the Coco dating site to target gay men in order to arrange meetings and rob them. A line studied at the trial, which our colleagues at Le Parisien attended, sums up this predatory logic: “Tonight we’re going to make some money.” On March 5, 2023, the criminal plot turns to tragedy for Mickaël Roussin, 30, lured into his home in Sorgues, in the north of Avignon. While one of the attackers searches the premises for valuable objects, the other keeps the victim immobilized, a knee and a cushion pressed against his face. In a few minutes, the young man dies from asphyxiation. A murder that echoes that of Pierre-Olivier M., killed in similar circumstances in Noisy-le-Grand in 1995: tied up at his home by his assailants, the 43-year-old chef died smothered by the pillow used to silence him. In Avignon, a few days after Mickaël Roussin’s murder, the gang targeted a second victim, who survived.
The homophobia cited in the trial
The question of the aggravating circumstance of homophobia was at the heart of the debates before the Vaucluse Assize Court. If it had not been retained during the investigation, the hearings easily brought it to light. “With the gays, it’s easier. They are ready for anything to have sexual relations. They trust us,” Intissar A. explained when asked about the choice of victims, as reported by La Provence.
Similarly, the second victim was targeted because of his sexual orientation. The jurors therefore upheld the aggravating circumstance of homophobia for all the facts. A decision welcomed by the Stop Homophobie association, which hails “an important step.” The association notes that this recognition is important in these cases that “do not relate to isolated events but to an identified phenomenon”, documented notably by Têtu and Mediapart: in a 2023 investigation, we revealed that at least one homophobic ambush is recorded every week in France.
Linked to more than 20,000 cases, the Coco platform was closed in 2024 by a court order, before resurfacing recently under the name Cocoland, prompting Paris prosecutors to open a new proceeding. To fight the scourge of ambushes targeting gay men, the Interministerial Delegation for the Fight Against Anti-LGBT Hate (Dilcrah) drafted in March an action plan with four of the largest dating apps in France, including Grindr. To protect you, a cautionary principle remains essential: when you meet someone online, always choose a public and busy place for the first meeting.
