Overview

• A first psychiatric expertise concluded that Olivier Hadzovic’s acute and chronic schizophrenia abolished his discernment during the April 25 murder of Aboubakar Cissé in La Grand-Combe, rendering him legally irresponsible.
• The examining magistrate has mandated a second joint expertise to reconcile differing psychiatric opinions and inform the court’s decision on criminal responsibility.
• Hadžović remains detained in a specialized psychiatric unit following his May 9 indictment for assassination aggravated by religion.
• Under French law, abolition of discernment at the time of an offense precludes criminal responsibility, making psychiatric evaluations decisive for the trial.
• The killing has reignited debate over islamophobic violence and whether the case should be classified as a hate crime or a terrorist act.