A suspended prison sentence was requested Tuesday evening, November 30 in La Rochelle against four of the seven prison officers from the Saint-Martin-de-Ré (Charente-Maritime) plant appearing since Monday after the death of a detainee in troubled circumstances in 2016. For the three other defendants, the prosecutor of the Republic of La Rochelle Soraya Ahras requested the release.
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"This is not the trial of systemic violence, it is much more subtle,"
she explained.
"The defendants wore professional blinders, which led to dehumanization
.
"
According to Soraya Ahras,
"it is a series of errors of appreciation and a multiplication of errors of judgment"
which, on August 9, 2016 on the island of Ré, led to the death of Sambaly Diabaté, 33, detainee of Malian origin sentenced in 2012 to 13 years of criminal imprisonment for aggravated rape.
While opposing his transfer to the disciplinary unit, the prisoner, reported by prison staff as agitated and saying he was
"threatened"
and
"bewitched"
, had bitten a guard before being gagged, handcuffed and have their feet tied up with tape.
One or more officers had held him face down, putting pressure on his body.
Forensic examinations concluded that his death was due to
"multifactorial mechanical asphyxia"
, combining orofacial suffocation caused by the terrycloth serving as a gag, impaired respiratory mechanics and chest compression.
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The lawyers of the Diabaté family, Ms. Julie Castaing and Maxime Gouache, requested the reclassification of the facts as willful violence resulting in death without intention of giving it, liable to the assize court, or that the court declares itself incompetent.
"Everything screwed up"
, launched Me Gouache to the judges.
“Have the courage to make the right decisions”
.
The trial ends Wednesday with defense pleadings.
