Defendant Turns Accuser in Aix-en-Provence Murder Trial
The suffocating press of bodies and hooded officers in the Aix-en-Provence assize court gave way to a new drama this Wednesday. Two men seized the room’s focus: Ahmed Zakaria Bensaci, seated to the left, and Amine Oualane. Since Monday, November 2, Bensaci had traded silence for speech. He donned a new role—the man who talks, the man who accuses. On Wednesday, he unleashed that accusation directly at Oualane, naming him the principal architect of the triple murder that left Brahim Chabane, Réda Khaldi, and Nassim Loubani dead in Châteauneuf-les-Martigues on December 29, 2020, Le Parisien reported.
Oualane answered in kind. He told the court that Bensaci accused Oualane of being the principal in the murders while presenting himself as the fall guy, exposing the recriminations gripping the trial in the Bouches-du-Rhône.
💬«Il croit qu’il va gagner de l’argent en me mettant dans la merde» Dans une ambiance tendue, Amine Oualane et Ahmed Zakaria Bensaci assurent dire la vérité en s’accusant mutuellement du triple assassinat de Châteauneuf-les-Martigues en décembre 2020 Récit ➡️… pic.twitter.com/En12HQEUSE
Bensaci Breaks Silence, Shifting Blame
After initially refusing to respond to the presiding judge’s questions, Bensaci finally spoke. He claimed his presence in Châteauneuf-les-Martigues that night had a single purpose: to steal a car at the request of a man known as Mamine. “He told me Réda and Brahim would be there, and that the car was for them,” Bensaci said. When the vehicles of both the accused and the victims arrived, he heard gunshots. Seconds later, three bodies lay dead, and Bensaci discovered a bullet had torn into his arm. In his version of events, he is merely the “turkey of the farce”—the fall guy in a plot he did not design.
“Put It on Standby—You’re Not in Dubai”
The courtroom dynamic shifted when another defendant, known as Zziigg, turned his fire on Bensaci. “Put it on standby, put it on standby. You’re in prison, you’re not in Dubai,” Zziigg said, puncturing any illusions of wealth or escape.
Court Examines Conflicting Claims During Trial
The assize court must now weigh Bensaci’s claim that he was there to steal a car and was wounded by gunfire that left three dead against his charge that Oualane was the main figure in the murders. With the dock overflowing and the attacks flying between the two men, the trial continues in Aix-en-Provence, seeking to determine who truly orchestrated the December 29, 2020, killings—and who is simply trying to talk their way out of prison.
