The trial of the man accused of carrying out a terrorist attack in the New York district of Manhattan Sayfullo Saipov gets underway today. On 31 October 2017 Sayfullo Saipov drove his pick-up truck into a group of cyclists and pedestrians. Among the 8 people that died in the attack was a young mother from West Flanders. Ann-Laure Decadt from Oostnieuwkerke died of the injuries she sustained when the radicalised Islamic State sympathiser from New Jersey deliberately ran her over. In the following article VRT News’ Correspondent in the United States Björn Soenens outlines what we can expect during Sayfullo Saipov’s trial that is expected to last several months.
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Young mother from West Flanders was among the victims of 2017 New York terror attack
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More than 5 years ago on 31 October 2017 Sayfullo Saipov ran over and killed 8 people with his pick-up truck. He then ran his truck into a school bus. Afterwards he got out of his vehicle and shouted “Allahu Akbar” and took out two guns. It later transpired that these were paintball guns.
Saipov was shot in the stomach by a policeman and arrested. An IS flag was found in his car and a hand-written declaration of loyalty to the terror group.
West Fleming (31) among the victims
Among the victims of the 2017 Halloween attack was a 31-year-old woman from the West Flemish village of Oostnieuwkerke. Laure Decadt was the mother of two children then aged 3 and just 3 months. She was in New York on holiday with her mother and her two sisters.
Sayfullo Saipov’s (photo below) van smashed into the back of the bicycle she was riding. Laure Decadt died at the scene.
The other fatal victims were two Americans and five Argentine tourists. Two other Belgians were seriously injured. One of them lost two of her limbs.
Immigrant from Uzbekistan
When he carried out the attack Sayfullo Saipov was 29 years old and married with three children. Seven years earlier he had immigrated to the United States from Uzbekistan after he had been granted a green card.
Sayfullo Saipov was a accountant in Uzbekistan when he emigrated to the United States at the age of 22. After stays in Ohio and Florida, he ended up in Paterson, a town in the state of New Jersey. He initially worked as a lorry driver and later as a driver for the private hire taxi service Uber.
Due to his tendency to lose his temper he regularly lost his job. In 2015, two years before the attack, he was questioned by the FBI about his contacts with two suspected terrorists. However, case was started against him.
During his early years in the United States Sayfullo Saipov was not very religious. He regularly got involved in fights and quarrels. He was a young man with a short fuse. In the months leading up to the terror attack, Saipov spent a lot of time at his local mosque in New Jersey, a place of worship closely monitored by police.
He became radicalised without those close to him noticing anything. Nevertheless, he had been planning his attack for many months. He studied instructional videos from IS on how to carry out a terror attack using a vehicle.
Saipov had expected and hoped that there would be many more cyclists and pedestrians on the path at the time of his attack so that there would be more victims. After having been shot by police, he asked to hang the IS flag in his hospital room. He was elated and happy about what he had done and said that he had no regrets.
Since the attack bollards have been installed to prevent cars, vans and other motor vehicles from getting onto the cycle path on the West Side of New York.
Sayfullo Saipov risks federal death penalty
More than five years on Sayfullo Saipov is standing trial in New York. The trial should have got under way in 2019 but was postponed several times. He is charged with eight counts of murder and 12 counts of attempted murder. He is also charged with terrorism and vandalising a vehicle. As many as four public prosecutors have been assigned to the case.
Initially, Sayfullo Saipov was going to plead guilty to all charges. He was also willing to go to prison for life if he was not given the death penalty. However, prosecutors of the American Justice Department are demanding that he be given the death penalty. Although the death penalty has been abolished in the State of New York, it can still be passed federally for some offences, such as terrorist acts. In protest against this Sayfullo Saipov is now pleading not guilty to all charges.
Plaque remembers West Flemish victim
On October 31 2021 four years to the day since her tragic death a memorial plaque in remembrance of Ann-Laure Decadt was unveiled at the Hudson River Park in New York City. The inscription on the plaque reads “Belgian victim of the Hudson River Park Path Terror Attack”.
The trial of her killer, Sayfullo Saipov, could take two to three months. Her family members are receiving help and support from the US authorities. The American Justice Department has put them up in a hotel for two weeks and is paying for 8 planes tickets for travel to and from the trial in New York at four different times.
No one doubts the accused’s guilt. The big question is will the man that took Ann-Laure Decadt’s life be given a life sentence or the death penalty? This will only be decided once the jury has unanimously found him guilty.