Overview

• Nine psychiatric experts testified that Yassine Kanjaa experienced an acute psychotic break, describing a parallel reality in which he believed he was Jesus and that people practiced brujería against him.
• An expert for the victim’s family disputed a full exculpation, citing actions such as turning off his phone and hiding the machete as signs of some awareness and ideological conditioning.
• The Public Prosecutor seeks up to 50 years in prison with terrorism aggravation while recognizing a very qualified mental impairment as an attenuating factor rather than a complete defense.
• Kanjaa declined to testify, and the court replayed his 2023 statements in which he framed the attacks as a moral duty and spoke of wanting to kill perceived false prophets.
• The court extended the trial by a day for closing arguments, leaving judges to decide criminal responsibility or compulsory psychiatric internment.