Seven days after her disappearance, investigators have still found no trace of 18-year-old Sihem, who has not given any signs of life since January 25, when she was at her grandmother’s house in Grande-Combe, in the Gard. However, the case is advancing as there are currently two people in custody.
A guest on BFMTV this Wednesday, Me Mourad Battikh, a lawyer for the Sihem family, intends to “send a message” and “reiterate the call for witnesses.” “If anyone has any information, if anyone has been involved from near or far, now is the time to say so,” he urges.
“Sihem must find his family,” he insists.
A man known for justice in custody
“For the family, seconds are hours and hours are an eternity,” added the lawyer. This Wednesday, Sihem’s relatives gather in front of the Nîmes court, where the two main suspects in the case are heard: a relative of Sihem, in his forties, and his ex-partner.
“We don’t know to what extent they participated,” explains Me Mourad Battikh.
Initially, the Alès prosecutor’s office had opened an investigation into a worrying disappearance, before reclassifying it for kidnapping and forced confinement. The detainee is very unfavorably known by the police and justice services and has thirteen mentions in his criminal record between 2001 and 2015.
He was to be tried on Wednesday before a criminal court for previous events. “The family feared that the Assize Court would prevail over police custody,” explains Me Mourad Battikh. The trial will be adjourned to a later date and custody will be maintained.
Source: BFM TV
