A certain leniency towards offenders is the hallmark of the Monaco Criminal Court, with many offenders afforded a second chance.
However, a violent assault on three people in the early hours of Wednesday, June 22, so offended the court that the two offenders were sentenced to 18-month jail sentences.
The residents of Beausoleil and Villeneuve-Loubet, 28 and 23, set about their victims in an unprovoked attack at 03:30 in the morning at the level of the pay station in the Antoine 1 car park.
In an attack recorded on the mobile telephone of girlfriends of the perpetrators as well as CCTV, the two ruffians, who are fans of martial arts, used hands and feet to beat the three youngsters who, shocked at the assault, offered no resistance. The girlfriends egged them on, the court heard.
Court president Florestan Belllinzona said the images were “unbearable to watch.”
The court said that such violent behaviour cannot be tolerated in Monaco and a serious custodial sentence was needed. In each case, 12 months of the 18 must be spent behind bars.
