A task that is both complex and historical. From September 8, lawyer Olivia Ronen will be in charge of the defense of Salah Abdeslam in the trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015.
An eloquent young lawyer
Olivia Ronen is not the first lawyer to come. Indeed, the 31-year-old young woman is a former secretary of the Paris Bar Conference. She obtained this title by participating in a renowned eloquence competition for young lawyers. The top twelve get a secretary title, which says a lot about his talent.
In a portrait dedicated to him, France Inter depicts a determined lawyer, who never gives up whatever the subject, and who has not been spared the trials of life. She wears a tattoo on her left wrist in tribute to her sister, who has multiple disabilities and died almost ten years ago.
experience in terrorist cases
As secretary of the Conference, she finds herself defending in particular Erwan Guillard, a former Breton soldier accused of having joined Daesh in Syria. Consequently, a third of his timetable is devoted to terrorist cases. Including cases of far-right terrorism. Olivia Ronen said she was particularly marked by the suicide of one of her clients, who was found dead in his cell in Fleury-Mérogis while he was indicted in the Nice attack.
Defend at all costs
Olivia Ronen is not afraid of the image that her clients can give of her. “The more serious the facts, the more the defense must be total, without concessions. You have to go there 100%, not to be afraid of displeasing or shocking, ”she explained to RTL. So when Salah Abdeslam wishes to meet the lawyer to obtain his defense, she accepts, then decides to represent him. However, she ensures that certain conditions have been decided between her and the last surviving member of the commandos of November 13, 2015. It remains to be seen how his defense will take shape over the coming weeks.