Several hundred Chechens demonstrated Saturday in Rennes and Strasbourg against the stigmatization of which their community is according to them the object and to honor the memory of one of theirs shot dead last week in the Breton capital.
"
We are shot twice: the first time to kill us, the second time to make us dirty,
" said Magomed, 30, neighbor of Hamzat Labazanov, 23, shot in the head on the 17th. March in the middle of the day, in the Cleunay district of Rennes.
Read also: Chechen killed in Rennes: a second suspect imprisoned
Two men in their twenties, known to the courts, were indicted for murder in an organized gang and complicity and imprisoned.
On the day of the events, the Rennes prosecutor Philippe Astruc spoke of a "
possible settlement of accounts against a background of drug trafficking
".
"
As soon as something happens with a Chechen, we are stuck this label
", regretted Magomed.
“
Members of our community are dying and it is we who are accused.
"
Nearly 400 Chechens, coming from all over Brittany, from Le Mans or from Rouen, gathered in Rennes near the building of the victim.
They observed a time of prayer and then walked to Carrefour City in front of which Hamzat was killed.
"He
was a good person, everyone loved him, trusted him,
" described a 23-year-old Chechen with a thin beard.
"
A golden little guy, who has never been involved in anything illegal,
" approved Magomed, 31, a logistics engineer, who lives in the same building.
According to his relatives, Hamzat was killed because he wanted to chase drug dealers from the lobby of his building.
Read during the rally, a resolution from the Peace and Human Rights association denounced “
erroneous information
” and “
biased accusations against Chechen refugees
”.
The victim's father called for calm and asked the younger ones to keep their distance from the deal points.
In Strasbourg, around 150 Chechens also gathered at Place de la République, some of whom came from Paris, Nice or Reims.
"
We are political refugees who left our homeland to live IN PEACE
" proclaimed a sign.
“
We ourselves are assimilated to traffickers.
This is something we do not understand
, ”denounced Shamil Albakov, spokesperson for the Assembly of Chechens in Europe.
"
It is not because we live in working-class neighborhoods that we can be denigrated, or that young people can be killed
."
Read also: The puzzles of the Chechen community in France
“
We demand that the Chechen origin is not systematically associated with criminality.
In the media, the word
“Chechen”
is systematically associated with violence or criminality,
”added lawyer Zelimkhan Chavkhalov.
For Ousman Artchakov, spokesperson for the Daymohk association, "
our only fault is that we do not give in to these dealers
".
Several associations sent an open letter to the Minister of the Interior on Saturday.
"
Our origin is constantly being dragged through the mud (...) We will not stop fighting for our rights to refute these prejudices
", they write in particular.