Commissioner Rabah Souchi, who ordered a police charge in which Geneviève Legay was seriously injured in March 2019 in Nice during a prohibited demonstration of yellow vests, was indicted for "complicity in willful violence" has t - we learned Thursday from the Lyon prosecutor's office.
"Rabah Souchi was indicted on November 9 by the investigating judge on charges of complicity, by order or instruction, of willful violence by a person holding public authority," said the prosecution.
The IGPN had concluded that there had been a “disproportionate” police charge.
On March 23, 2019, Geneviève Legay, an Attac activist, had several broken ribs and skull fractures during a police charge ordered to disperse a prohibited demonstration of yellow vests on the eve of a visit by the Chinese president Xi Jinping.
The case had resonated strongly at the time, fueled by the conflicting views of the authorities.
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"The strategy adopted and the orders given" were characterized "by a lack of clarity and a directive aspect"
A judicial investigation was opened for willful violence by a person holding public authority and the case was disoriented in Lyon by the Court of Cassation.
Recently, a report from the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) pointed to a disproportionate use of force due to "inappropriate orders".
The IGPN in particular noted “differences of appreciation” on the ground, on the day of the events, between the unit commanders and the operational manager of law enforcement - the divisional commissioner Rabah Souchi- whose “the strategy adopted and the orders given "were characterized" by a lack of clarity and a directive aspect ", according to this report.
After the facts, the Nice prosecutor, Jean-Michel Prêtre, had first denied any physical "contact" on the part of the police, remarks repeated by Emmanuel Macron.
Then the magistrate then admitted that she had been pushed by a police officer, following the exploitation of video surveillance images.
The prosecutor has since been transferred to the Lyon Court of Appeal at the end of 2019.