1978 – The Bendjelloul case: death penalty sought

Alain Bendjelloul, a man already convicted by an Assize Court, once again stood trial, this time for a brutal murder. The victim, a man well known to the police, had been forced to his knees before being executed by Bendjelloul. The death penalty was sought for this crime.

Le Monde described the trial of Alain Bendjelloul, aged thirty, as extraordinary; he was readily described as public enemy no. 2 (after Mesrine) and the king of escapes. In the dock beside him were two accomplices: Michel Laurent, thirty-eight, and Philippe Tortosa-Paysant, thirty, accused of having taken part in the last hold-up attributed to Bendjelloul. The three men had been arrested on 1 December 1975 on a farm in Normandy, at Menil-Hubert-sur-Orne, where they were living in hiding with three women, shortly after Bendjelloul’s escape. He had made the mistake of telephoning his mistress in Marseille: the line was being tapped. In this hideaway, police found weapons, ammunition, balaclavas, sums of money in French francs and foreign currency, and small equipment that seemed to leave no doubt as to the trio’s activities.

Between his escape from Fresnes and his arrest, that is to say around 22 November 1975, Bendjelloul had found time to dispose of two men known to belong to the Marseille underworld: Mathieu Trivico, known as “the Indian”, thirty-five, and Jacques Pellegrini, fifty-six. Pellegrini had had an affair with Bendjelloul’s girlfriend.

Bendjelloul’s defence rested on the shoulders of François Tubiana, Camille Giudicelli and Jean-Louis Pelletier. Philippe Vouland defended an accomplice involved in the hold-up linked to the case. The task was complex. The death penalty hung over their heads, and the lawyers had to persuade the court to choose a less severe sentence.

Philippe Vouland, together with his colleagues, pleaded forcefully against the death penalty. They put forward strong humanitarian arguments, emphasising mitigating circumstances and the importance of rehabilitation.

The death penalty was not imposed.

Philippe Vouland’s client received a partly suspended sentence, allowing him to leave prison shortly after the trial.

Read the Le Monde article on this case (in French): Link to the article