A new additional medical report issued on August 22 confirms a previous report that the death of Adama Traoré in 2016 was caused by "
heat stroke
" aggravated by the "
coercion
" of three gendarmes, according to the document. unveiled by
Liberation
consulted on Wednesday, November 9 by AFP.
Four Belgian experts had concluded in January 2021 that the death of this young black man, on July 19, 2016 in the barracks of Persan (Val-d'Oise), had been caused, on this day of heat wave, by a "
heatstroke
which however “
probably
” would not have been fatal without his arrest by the gendarmes, who had handcuffed the young man while he was struggling lying on his stomach.
They were not indicted in the long-term judicial investigation.
New auditions
These experts were called upon again, in June 2021, for additional expertise after the addition of new testimonies and medical elements to the file.
Three of the four initial experts as well as a fourth concluded on August 22 that “
the new hearings and the medical documents drawn up by occupational medicine do not modify the conclusions of the previous collegial expert report
”.
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Among these new hearings, a direct witness, who had known Adama Traoré since childhood and had helped him escape after his first arrest, on July 19, 2016. According to him, “
Adama was out of breath.
(…) I'm not used to seeing him out of breath, but it's true that when I intervened, I was a little surprised to see him tired
”.
“
It's as if his body wasn't reacting.
(…) For me, he was in a state that is not usual, he did not speak
, “said this witness.
For the four Belgian experts, this testimony "
reinforces the hypothesis put forward by the previous college according to which the hypoxemia caused by heat stroke during exercise had been evolving since well before the arrest of Mr. Adama Traoré
".
"No direct responsibility of the gendarmes"
"
At the time of the second arrest, the hypoxemia was therefore well established, maintained
" in particular by sarcoidosis - a rare pathology - from which Adama Traoré suffered, according to them.
Read alsoAdama Traoré: the judges ask for other pieces
These elements “
even reinforce (their) conviction as to the pathophysiological mechanisms that led to death
”, they add.
"
There is no direct responsibility of the gendarmes because the main cause of death is heatstroke during exercise maintained by sarcoidosis
", commented Me Rodolphe Bosselut, lawyer for two of the three gendarmes.
For Me Yassine Bouzrou, lawyer for the family of the deceased, “
without the violent arrest of the gendarmes, Adama Traoré would not have died.
In other words, the gendarmes caused (his) death.
Indictment and referral to a court are required by law.
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