Julien Coupat (born June 4, 1974 in Bordeaux) is a French political activist. As one of the Tarnac Nine, he was arrested on November 11, 2008 and accused of terrorism in connection with a plot to sabotage French train lines. Coupat spent over six months in jail before being released on bail; he was held for a significantly longer period than other members of the Tarnac Nine because French police believed him to be the leader of the group, which they described as an Anarchist cell.
Since the time of the 2008 arrests, the legal case against Coupat and the other members of the Tarnac Nine had weakened. On August 7, 2015, French judge Jeanne Duyé ordered that the specifically terrorist related charges against the group and against Coupat be dropped;[1] On January 10, 2017, the French Supreme Court upheld this decision.[2][3] Following this, Coupat and the other members of the Tarnac Nine were still expected to face various lesser charges. On April 12, 2018, Coupat and other members of the Tarnac Nine were acquitted of the most significant remaining charges, particularly conspiracy and sabotage, although some members were still convicted of lesser, symbolic charges, and ordered to pay fines.[4][5]
- ^ Deviller, Sophie (August 8, 2015). "French 'anarchist cell' cleared of terror charges over rail sabotage". Yahoo. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ La justice écarte définitivement la qualification d'acte terroriste dans l'affaire Tarnac, Le Monde 10 January 2017
- ^ Affaire Tarnac :La justice écarte définitivement la qualification d'acte terroriste , La Croix 10 January 2017
- ^ Chrisafis, Angelique (April 13, 2018). "Leftwing 'anarchist terror cell' is fiction, French judges rule". The Guardian.
- ^ "Sabotage d'une ligne SNCF :relaxe pour les principaux militants du groupe de Tarnac". France Inter. 12 April 2018.