Avignon's correctional tribunal sentenced two brothers on Thursday to four years in prison, two suspended, for setting homophobic ambushes via a dating site. An accomplice who filmed the assaults received 18 months, 12 suspended. The acts spanned from 2022 to 2026.
Avignon's correctional tribunal delivered its verdict on Thursday against two brothers aged 19 and 20, along with their accomplice, all with clean criminal records. They were tried for two assaults in January in Vedène, Vaucluse, and Avignon. Sentences include four years imprisonment with two years' probationary suspension for the brothers, and 18 months with 12 suspended for the filmer, according to the Avignon prosecutor's office.
From 2022 to 2026, the brothers used a fake profile on a dating site to lure victims and assault them in a group, with weapons, due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, said their lawyer Isabelle Cuilleret to AFP. The accomplice filmed the violence.
Defense lawyers Me Cuilleret and Me Jalil Henri Amr announced no appeal. Me Cuilleret stated her clients were influenced by online masculinist sites and contacts on US social networks. Initially, the accused told investigators they were tracking pedophiles, according to La Provence.
