Vanessa B. on trial for terrorism and attempted murder

Vanessa B., a 38-year-old woman from Tarare in the Rhône region of France, is on trial in Paris for charges including "association with wrongdoers in order to prepare acts of terrorism," "removal by a parent of their legal obligations compromising the health, safety, morality, or education of their children," and "attempted voluntary homicide of a cohabitant." She is accused of trying to kill her former husband with a pump-action shotgun at point-blank range.

Vanessa B. acknowledges her actions

During her court appearance, Vanessa B. acknowledged the facts attributed to her, stating, "I understand why I am here today and I am really sorry to everyone and the victims, I have understood the extent of my actions." She also said, "I acknowledge the facts and I have realized that I was part of that chain (of ISIS, editor's note)."

Vanessa B. claims self-defense

When asked if she intended to kill her former husband, Vanessa B. stated, "He aggressed me, my body reacted. I had no intention of killing. I wanted to defend myself." According to the court proceedings, Vanessa B. had a "completely battered" childhood, marked by a dysfunctional family environment.

Vanessa B.'s troubled childhood

Her mother was a "drug addict," and her biological father was unable to care for her. From the age of 6 months, she was placed in a foster family and received a Catholic education but continued to see her biological family once every two weeks. She described painful moments where she was among her half-brothers and half-sisters, who were of "Arab-typed" appearance, while she was blonde with blue eyes. This physical difference created an "identity blur," according to several experts.

Vanessa B.'s foster family experience

In her foster family, Vanessa B. experienced further turmoil. She described herself as "racist" and intolerant of her parents' Maghreb origins. She stated that upon returning from visits to her biological family, she was subjected to "scrubbing" showers where she was rubbed until she turned red and had vinegar poured over her body. At the age of 15, she fell into petty crime, and her foster family no longer wanted to take her in.

Vanessa B. faces sexual abuse claims

She was placed in a home where, according to her statements, she was subjected to rapes. However, she later nuanced this by saying, "It wasn't rapes because I let it happen." Her biological father was later incarcerated for pedophilic acts on one of his nieces. Alexandra B., one of Vanessa's half-sisters, stated via videoconference that her father "slept with us, he went to bed with us in the evening. He slept with me until I was 9 or 10 years old."

Vanessa B.'s radicalization

Vanessa B. described her radicalization as linked to her "identity quest" and "abandonment anxiety." According to expert psychologist Julie Marical, Islam provided a framework that could have secured Vanessa B. She believed that the more rigorous her practice, the happier she could feel. This belief, however, was a mistake. Her meeting with Islam coincided with her meeting the father of her first child, with whom she eventually broke due to his infidelities.

Vanessa B.'s journey to Syria

She radicalized afterward, wearing longer veils. Her radicalization accelerated when she began consuming fundamentalist content on the internet. She affirmed she wanted to go to the ISIS caliphate in Syria without foreseeing the violence she would encounter. In December 2013, Vanessa B. went to Syria with her two children, a 5-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl, born from different fathers.

Vanessa B.'s life in Syria

According to the DGSI investigator, she had an "atypical profile" because she managed to join Syria on her own, demonstrating resourcefulness and experience in concealment techniques. In Syria, she married a Daesh fighter, Frenchman Mohamed S. This marriage provided her with housing in Raqqa, but it was marked by disputes. The violence reached its peak when she shot Mohamed S. with a pump-action shotgun.

Vanessa B. faces her former husband

According to her childhood friend, she told her she shot him because she was defending herself and he was beating her and her children. Seriously injured, Mohamed S. survived and chose to forgive his wife, allowing her to escape the death penalty. After Mohamed S. left Syria, Vanessa B. was obliged to find a new husband and eventually married a Tunisian jihadist, Hamza B., with whom she had a son.

Vanessa B. returns to France

Her half-sister stated that Vanessa was not afraid of bombings. However, the reality of the war and the bombings by Russian forces on Daesh strongholds eventually caught up with her. In 2017, her two daughters, aged 6 and 2 years, were killed in a bombing. This tragedy marked the beginning of the end of her religious exile. Vanessa B. followed the geographical decline of Daesh and moved several times to escape the bombings with her children.

Vanessa B. faces life imprisonment

She eventually ended up in Baghouz, near the Iraqi border. In 2019, after her son was injured by a shell, Vanessa B. decided to go to the Kurdish forces before being repatriated to France in 2022. Vanessa B. faces life imprisonment and a fine of 450,000 euros for the facts attributed to her. This Thursday's hearing is an important step in determining her future, as she will face her former husband Mohamed S., whom she shot with a pump-action shotgun.