Overview

• On May 27 the Cour d’assises de Savoie sentenced 28-year-old Algerian Hicham Abderraouf to life imprisonment for the 2019 blaze at the Isba residence.
• The January 20, 2019 fire ravaged a seasonal workers’ dormitory in Courchevel, killing two people and injuring about twenty others who leapt from windows to escape.
• Prosecutors cited evidence that Abderraouf’s car made multiple passes near the building minutes before smoke appeared and that accelerant was detected on site.
• Throughout the trial Abderraouf maintained his innocence while his defense argued investigators focused on an unverified rumor from his former partner.
• A separate trial for the Isba owner is scheduled June 5–6 in Albertville on charges of involuntary homicide, injuries and illegally housing workers.