Joseph Jas-Béala

Joseph Jas-Béala, nicknamed 'Béala', (15 August 1865 in Firminy-17 June 1940 in Lyon), was a mechanician, activist and individualist illegalist anarchist terrorist. Béala actively participated in the Saint-Germain bombing, an attack that plunged France and Europe into the Era of Attacks (1892–1894). Arrested with his accomplices Ravachol, Rosalie Soubère and Charles Simon, he was acquitted by the jury. He was repeatedly brought to trial by the state, facing a new trial after each acquittal. Béala was acquitted three times in total before being sentenced to one year in prison during his fourth trial, this time for harboring Ravachol.