French courts sentence Dahbia Benkired to life in prison without parole

French courts have sentenced Dahbia Benkired, an Algerian migrant, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the ritualistic murder of 12-year-old Lola Daviet. This sentence marks Benkired as the first female and the seventh individual overall to receive life imprisonment without parole since the Penal reform of 1994.

The French judiciary has reserved this severe punishment for offenders who commit multiple murders, particularly those involving female victims who are killed after being raped. Benkired"s case has drawn significant attention due to its brutality.

In recent history, the last two individuals to receive life sentences without parole were Salah Abdeslam in 2022, for his role in the 2015 Bataclan terrorist attacks that resulted in the deaths of 130 people in Paris, and Brahim Aouissaoui, a Tunisian migrant who beheaded a priest and two parishioners in a Catholic church in Nice in 2020 shortly after arriving in France.

For more on related coverage, see our article on recent developments in the legal system.