A 22-year-old man was sentenced on Tuesday, October 20 in Montbéliard (Doubs), to 18 months in prison for participating in the assault on police officers targeted by mortar fire in the sensitive district of Little Holland.
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Found guilty of "
violence in meetings
" against four police officers, the defendant was also ordered by the criminal court to pay 1000 euros in damages to each of the victims.
The police were attacked on the morning of October 13 by a group of 4 to 6 individuals who had targeted them with mortar fire, near a school and a market, while they searched a garage.
"
These police officers knew how to protect themselves, barricade themselves and I do not know by what miracle, surely thanks to their professionalism, they were not injured
", but these are "
particularly serious and unacceptable facts
", estimated at the hearing prosecutor Sandra Coelho.
She called on the court to "
demonstrate the will not to allow a lawless zone to be established where the police cannot intervene
", before requesting two years in prison against the young man.
Sentenced in the past four times
“
I was having breakfast, I heard mortar fire, I went to see what was going on.
I saw young people running in my direction, I was afraid, I ran
”, explained the young man, already convicted in the past four times for acts of theft and driving without a license.
"
I was present at the scene, but I did not take part in the violence,
" he said.
But for the prosecutor, this young man "
took part in the violence
".
"
We can clearly see him running with another person
" on video filmed by a witness, she said.
The magistrate underlined the “
contradictory
” nature of the defendant's statements.
His lawyer, Me Laurence Clauss, pleaded for release.
The video was recorded "
on the sidelines
" of the assault, she said.
"
At the time this video is taken, the shootings are still taking place and my client is running, he is not with the attackers,
" she said.
In addition, the attackers "
were all hooded, with masks
", while the defendant was with his face uncovered.
"
It's totally inconsistent
", according to the lawyer who fears that her client is a "
scapegoat
" of the national and local context in a district plagued by urban violence for several weeks.
She said she would appeal the court ruling.
