Two Brav-M police officers are on trial this Thursday for violence by a person holding public authority. The events took place in March 2023 on the sidelines of a demonstration against pension reform.
Two police officers from the Brav-M, Brigade for the repression of violent motorized action, are on trial this Thursday, March 7 in Bobigny. They are accused of violence and threats against a 23-year-old young man named Souleyman. The events occurred on March 20, on the sidelines of the demonstration against pension reform. The student, who did not participate in the event, said he was hit and knocked to the ground by the two police officers. He was then grouped with other arrestees before receiving a slap from one of the officers. Insults and threats would have followed.
One of the arrested filmed the scene without their knowledge and the images were revealed by Loopsider a few days later. In the recording, racist remarks are audible: “Four years that you have been in France? That’s a long time! (…) How did you make the trip to Chad, did you go by sea in Spain?”. Near BFMTVthe victim had even mentioned a sexual assault, accusing one of the police officers of having grabbed him by the private parts.
Souleyman was released the next day, without legal proceedings, but then filed a complaint against the police. The latter’s comments were also deemed unacceptable by the head of the IGPN. If they were identified, they were not suspended from their duties. In their defense, although they admitted having made inappropriate comments, the police highlighted several days of work without rest and one of them accused the young man of “provocation”.
The representatives of the police will finally be judged this Thursday for violence by a person holding public authority and repeated threats “to the exclusion of any other offense or aggravating circumstance”. The charges of sexual assault and racist insults were therefore not retained, a choice that the complainant’s lawyer regretted. Franceinfo also estimated that the hearing would have a good chance of being adjourned. According to Arié Alimi, the plaintiff’s lawyer, “the Bobigny public prosecutor protected the majority of police officers by prosecuting only two officials for a tiny part of the offenses. This is why we are going to do the work for him , by completing the prosecution. It is unacceptable that in cases of police violence, particularly committed by members of the Brav-M, the prosecution’s sole role is to protect, as far as possible, violent, racist and sexist acts. that they commit.”
If these arguments are deemed admissible, the court will set a new hearing date to take time to examine these new requests. In addition, according to article 222-13 of the Penal Code, violence committed by a person holding public authority can result in a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros.