Olivier Cousi and Nathalie Roret, president and vice-president of Paris in charge of criminal defense, have just sent a letter to the president of the Paris court, Stéphane Noël, to his prosecutor Rémy Heitz, as well as to the Keeper of the Seals, Nicole Belloubet to protest against the sanitary conditions of the jails of the court who welcome the defendants.
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Referring to the plan for the continuation of judicial activity for "essential litigation" , they assert that "in view of the material conditions established at all times (promiscuity, absence of gel and protective mask, suspicion in the event of infection among the persons referred), we can only designate colleagues if we obtain beforehand from your jurisdiction or the Chancellery a medical certificate from the health authorities attesting that the material organization and the measures taken by your jurisdiction guarantee the absence risk of contagion " .
I will not send young lawyers under these dangerous conditions.
Olivier Cousi"I will not send young lawyers in these dangerous conditions , " insists Olivier Cousi, who refuses to see "tinkering with installations that are not targeted by the Ministry of Health. We have no gel, no mask and no hygienic phone. We have had two cases of defendants arriving with suspicious escorts. And I have three young colleagues hospitalized. The same goes for the Court of Appeal for the hearings before the investigating chamber where the transfer conditions are appalling for the defendants ” .
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“We are aware of the difficulties, we do our best to find and propose solutions. Our magistrates and the investigators who carry out rapid social investigations are under the same conditions. And we all face the same complexity ” , recognizes the public prosecutor Rémy Heitz, who already proposed Tuesday at 1 p.m. new premises. He is to meet with Stéphane Noël, the president of the Paris court at 9 a.m. on Wednesday to discuss new possibilities.
However, the immediate appearances will be held even if the lawyers declare forfeit, in the name of the current exceptional circumstances.
