Former taxi driver Frej Haj Messaoud, who tried to kill his ex-wife by burning him in the summer of 2019, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday in a Quebec City courthouse.
Having already served 1,495 days in prison, Messaoud will have to spend the next 15 years behind bars.
Last November, the 41-year-old pleaded guilty to attempted murder, avoiding a jury trial.
Prior to sentencing, Judge Guy Deblois returned Tuesday to events on August 9, 2019, when Frej Haj Messaoud, who could not accept the divorce from his wife, poured gasoline on him before setting fire to the middle of the street, of Saint. -Sauveur District.
Important sequelae
Wiem Haj Amor was burned on more than 50% of his body. He suffers from significant physical and psychological sequelae.
Judge Deblois indicated that the victim could no longer live normally. He was unable to continue his studies or work.
The crime committed was indescribable violence […] He wanted to get her through severe painunderlined the magistrate.
He added that Ms Amor suffered from nightmares, isolation, anger, incompetence and lived with a sense of injustice.
This does not count the psychological impact of the aggression on the two children the couple had from Tunisia before separating in 2019, after seven years of marriage.
There in the room, Ms. began to cry. Amor while listening to the narrative of facts.
Control
The judge described Messaoud as a controlling person who observes his movements and expenses. He recalled that the accused had waited more than two years before admitting his guilt.
The magistrate asserted that Messaoud’s emotions towards his victim seems to feel small.
Complicating matters in this case are many and the responsibility of the accused is considerable, the judge insisted, describing domestic violence as a plague to denounce.
With information from Marie-Pier Mercier
More details to come
Source: Radio-Canada
