Death of Clément Méric: opening of the trial of two former skinheads, on appeal

The appeal trial of two former skinheads, sentenced at first instance to eleven and seven years in prison for the death in 2013 of the young anti-fascist activist Clément Méric, opened Tuesday afternoon in front of the Essonne assizes.

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Esteban Morillo, 28, and Samuel Dufour, 27, appear free, carefully combed and dressed, in a dark jacket for one, a suit waistcoat for the other. The court must be interested in the afternoon in the personality of Esteban Morillo, who had admitted in first instance, in 2018, to have dealt "

" fatal to the victim.

The young man had also expressed his regrets, repenting of his past as a skinhead, to cover his tattoos linked to the far-right movement and burst into tears in full audience.

Before the appeal trial, his lawyer Me Jérôme Triomphe told AFP that he intended to plead acquittal.

The alleged facts date back to 2013. On June 5 at the end of the afternoon, two small groups of young activists from the far left and the far right accidentally meet at a private sale in the Saint-Lazare district in Paris.

Read also: Death of Clément Méric: appeal trial for two former skinheads

They shout at each other. The two groups made several calls to request reinforcements. Forty minutes later, a fight breaks out in the street. In just seven seconds, it was fatal to Clément Méric, an 18-year-old student from Sciences Po Paris, who collapsed on the asphalt after being hit in the face. Who provoked the confrontation? Did skinheads carry brass knuckles? In the first instance, the puzzle of testimonies and expertise did not shed any light on the unfolding of the facts. Although the two defendants both denied having used brass knuckles, the court found them guilty of wearing them.

At the end of two weeks of debates, Esteban Morillo had been convicted of violence with weapons and in assembly which resulted in death without intention of giving it. If he did not hit Clément Méric, Samuel Dufour had been condemned for having prevented his comrades from helping him. Another skinhead had been acquitted. Esteban Morillo and Dufour and the prosecution appealed. The court will examine the personality of Samuel Dufour on Wednesday morning.