On the fifth day of the trial of the three police officers who violently arrested him in February 2017 in Aulnay-sous-Bois, in the north of Paris, Théo Luhaka came to tell this Monday, January 15 at the Assize Court of Seine-Saint- Denis his new life.
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A colossus of almost 2 meters, Théo arrives at the bar with a cushion which he places on a chair. But he prefers to speak standing up. The 29-year-old young man gives his identity. “ Today, I don’t do much. I’m at home and I’m disabled “. “ Basically, I wanted to be a great footballer », says Théo Luhaka. The former midfielder had signed with a third division club in Belgium. “ I never returned to sport »
The former footballer will not say much more about his daily life, seven years after his violent arrest during which he received a baton blow in the anal area. He simply mentions his incontinence, despite two surgical operations: “ Loss of stools, gas and unpleasant odors “. Théo Luhaka has irreversible after-effects, according to medical experts. Theo says he has become bitter, fragile and withdrawn. “ I died on February 2, 2017 “, he said. “ In the demonstrations, they put my name alongside [ceux de] Zyed, Bouna, Adama Traoré », died of police violence in 2005 and 2016.
“ At the police station, they held me up like a trophy »
On February 2, 2017, the young man took advantage of “ the advertising break » of his television program to run a race for his sister at the city of 3 000 in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis). He will then “ greet » friends, according to his account, but finds himself controlled by the police, with the group.
From the first exchanges with the police, Théo is afraid. “ They didn’t come to control us, but to beat us up “, he says. So, he struggles to be in the field of video surveillance cameras. After the blow with a telescopic defense stick (BTD) which hits him in the anal area, he is no longer there. “ The pain was so bad », remembers Theo. The scene, filmed by the city’s video surveillance, shows him with his back against the wall and being cornered by two police officers before receiving the thrust which will cause a rupture of his sphincter (annular muscle), and a wound of ten centimeters deep.
“ In the car, the police officers were all very proud. At the police station, they held me up like a trophy », insists the young man. A version that the defense formally contests.
Currently, Théo would like justice to be done and also to find his previous body. But he knows, it’s impossible. The verdict is expected on January 19.
Read alsoThéo Luhaka affair: first day of the trial of three police officers tried for “intentional violence”
(And with AFP)