“We want him to talk!” Say Sihem’s relatives, gathered in front of the Nîmes courthouse

“Justice and Truth for Sihem”, “What if it was your daughter?”around the courthouse this Wednesday morning, the brothers, cousins ​​and friends of the young girl who disappeared on January 25 are peacefully demonstrating.

Sihem’s friends and family silently protest outside court pic.twitter.com/cqXSZrKVEt

– Midi Libre Nimes (@MidiLibreNimes) February 1, 2023

Silent, with serious faces, some in tears, the inhabitants of the La Grand-Combe sector and the surrounding area await the prosecutor’s response. She received Azzedine Maallou, a cousin of Sihem, in her office.

This Tuesday, two people were arrested in Cendras, near Alès and placed in police custody. One of the suspects, a 41-year-old man known to the courts, was to be tried on Wednesday February 1 for a robbery case in which he was involved. In response, relatives of Sihem, request that justice focus on the disappearance of the young Gardoise. “It’s the only lead we have” in the words of Azzedine Maallou. “We want him to speak, instead of being tried for cases that could be postponed later.”

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Disappearance of Sihem, near Alès: vast operation in Cendras, profile of the two suspects… update on the investigation

According to Namar Lahcene, a relative of the disappeared: “He is someone who has always denied. We want him to spill the beans.” The young man standing behind a sign “Rendez nous Sihem” recalls that the suspect has already been convicted in court 13 times.

Azzedine Maallou returns to his exchange with the prosecutor, in the case of the disappearance of Sihem and the arrest of a suspect #sihemBelouahmia pic.twitter.com/NBYYrKqnHv

– Midi Libre Nimes (@MidiLibreNimes) February 1, 2023

Azzedine Maalou se dit “satisfied” of “the hope that has given us back” the prosecutor. He reports that she told him “If we had to go to Russia to look for her, we would go.”

Samira Ghouas, a neighbor of Sihem, struggles to hide her emotion. Like all the people gathered, she expresses her support for the parents of the young woman (absent this Wednesday morning): “We have children of the same age, in the village we are a big family.”