Jawad Bendaoud
Jawad Bendaoud | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 30, 1986 France |
| Occupation | Criminal |
| Known for | Convicted for harboring terrorists linked to the November 2015 Paris attacks |
Jawad Bendaoud (born 30 August 1986) is a French national convicted for providing refuge to terrorists linked to the November 2015 Paris attacks, including the key orchestrator Abdelhamid Abaaoud. In March 2019, he received a four-year prison term for harboring both Abaaoud and Chakib Akrouh. Although acquitted in February 2018, an appellate court later overturned this decision, resulting in his conviction. Additionally, in August 2019, Bendaoud was handed a six-month sentence for verbally abusing a prison officer.
Prior to these events, Bendaoud had an extensive criminal background. In 2006, following an altercation, he fatally wounded his closest friend and was sentenced to eight years for voluntary manslaughter, serving six of those years. At the time of the terrorist attacks, he was engaged in drug trafficking.
Shortly after the attacks, Hasna Aitboulahcen—Abaaoud’s cousin—requested that Bendaoud lease an apartment intended for two occupants, which he accepted. This residence was subsequently raided on November 18 during the 2015 Saint-Denis raid, leading to the deaths of Abaaoud, Aitboulahcen, and Akrouh. Bendaoud was apprehended live on television while maintaining that he was unaware of their terrorist affiliations.
His original acquittal stemmed from a lack of conclusive proof that he knew the identities of those renting the apartment. However, following a prosecution appeal, he was found guilty and sentenced in 2019.
Bendaoud gained notoriety as an internet meme within France due to his public interview asserting ignorance about the terrorists and a widely shared video of his courtroom entrance—nicknamed the "Tough Guy Entrance"—which has garnered over 170 million views on Twitter.