The man who had suffered racist remarks from police officers who arrested him in L'Ile-Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) at the end of April, claims to have been subjected to violence from them and filed a complaint for these facts Saturday, May 9, according to his lawyer and the prosecution of Bobigny.
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The complaint against X, of which AFP obtained a copy, was filed with the prosecution for facts dating back to the night of April 25 to 26.
Aged 28, Samir, a construction worker of Egyptian nationality currently unemployed, has filed a complaint for " intentional violence resulting in an ITT not determined to date, in a meeting, with use or threat of a weapon, by depositaries of public authority (...) "and of a racist nature.
This resident of Seine-Saint-Denis, without papers and who has lived for more than 10 years in France, also files a complaint for " violation of individual liberty ", as well as for " destruction of private property ", his mobile phone having been broken by a policeman.
Suspended police
That night, Samir would have thrown himself into the Seine for " fear of police violence ", being in particular in an irregular situation, indicates his lawyer Arié Alimi.
The judicial authorities had indicated that the police were chasing two men suspected of theft on a construction site in Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine), a municipality bordering L'Ile-Saint-Denis. But the investigation was closed without further action.
Immediately handcuffed after reaching the opposite bank of the river, the young man was said to have received " numerous kicks, fists and batons from (...) seven or eight " officials, incriminating the commissioner " in the first place " divisional of Asnières, present on site. The beatings continue as the man is driven in a van, under the insults of the police, then in the van itself, from three male police officers and a woman who allegedly " crushed his head" on the ground with his foot, "according to the complaint.
A video, taken by residents and published on social networks, allows us to hear the racist remarks of the police officers - two of whom have since been suspended - then cries of pain, presented like those of the man arrested, accompanied by laughter seeming to emanate police officers.
At the police station in Asnières, where he is being taken, the police officer in charge of his search also allegedly " smashed (e) with batons " his cell phone.
Arrested shortly before 2:00 am, Samir was finally released around 5:20 pm, without having been assisted by a lawyer and " outside of all legal framework ", according to Me Alimi. The Nanterre public prosecutor's office had indicated just after the facts that he had indeed been placed in police custody for " break and enter and theft " but that the investigation had been closed without follow-up, and that an obligation to leave the territory French had been pronounced against him after his arrest, which Me Alimi contests.
