A special French terrorism court Monday opened the trial of eight defendants accused of assisting the driver who killed 86 people on in Nice, France, on Bastille Day 2016. The attacker, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, ploughed a heavy truck into civilians and was killed at the scene by security. However, eight people from his alleged network will now stand trial. The trial comes two months after the historic trial of 20 people involved in the November 13, 2015, Paris terror attacks.

Two thousand people have registered as victims, and 250 people plan to testify in court. A major issue, however, is the fact that the perpetrator of the crime is deceased. According to Eric Moraine, a lawyer for the victims, “the fact that the sole perpetrator is not there will create frustration. There will be many questions that no one will be able to answer.”

The defendants on trial are not being tried as accomplices but for their alleged “terrorist criminal association.” Thus, the authorities will seek to demonstrate that the defendants are radicalized. However, lawyer Antoine Casubolo-Ferro says that “sentences may not be commensurate with [the victims’] suffering.”

There is a special regime for victims of terrorism before French courts with special procedural rules. The courts have professional judges instead of a jury. Victims participate as civil parties, and compensatory damages must be sought non-judicially. Damages are managed by the French Administrative Solidarity Fund paid through Guarantee Funds for Victims of Terrorist Acts and Other Offenses (FGTI).