A dismissal in a case that had moved many French people.
Implicated in the barbaric attack on young Yuriy in Paris two years ago, a high school student implicated has just seen his prosecution canceled by an investigating chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal.
The young Yuriy, who was about to celebrate his 15th birthday, was taken to hospital in serious condition after being beaten up on the evening of January 15, 2021, while he was with friends on the Beaugrenelle slab, the fitted roof of a shopping center in the capital's 15th arrondissement.
Read alsoParis: Beaugrenelle, the model slab that has become an urban jungle
His vital prognosis had been engaged for ten days, because the attackers had hounded him for several minutes.
According to one of them, it was the cry of a neighbor that stopped them.
Band rivalries
The attack had been broadcast live and triumphant "
snaps
" had then circulated with one of the defendants smiling, a phone (Yuriy's, stolen) bloodied or captions such as "
I lick his blood
" or "
The job is over
”.
The twenty seconds of images of the attack had reacted to both President Emmanuel Macron and footballer Antoine Griezmann.
The investigating judge had considered that "
the facts are part of a context of rivalry between young individuals, residents of the 15th arrondissement of Paris, forming the RD4 band on the one hand, and that of the Vanves plateau on the other hand
" .
"
It is established that Yuriy's attack (...) was an act of revenge in response to the attack suffered
" five days earlier by the half-brother and cousin of two of the defendants, according to the magistrate.
Read alsoAggression of young Yuriy in Paris in 2021: the prosecution requests a criminal trial for 13 teenagers
Last October, an investigating judge sent 13 teenagers or young men to criminal trial, including six for “
attempted murder
”.
Among these, André*, a young man who had been part of the initial dragnet at the start of the investigation.
According to his defense, however, he had nothing to do with the case: if the first testimonies suggested a presence on the slab on the evening of the tragedy, the investigative work had made it possible to rule out any direct responsibility.
The young man, who was not considered part of the punitive expedition, had however followed the rising tensions from afar, like many young people from Vanves.
On the day of the attack, he had gone to Beaugrenelle, arriving after the attack.
He had taken a crutch with him.
For Me Caroline Girard, lawyer with Me Marianne Abgrall of the family and the ex-incriminated, it is the result of a desire to defend himself, if he were to be recognized by the opposing band, since he came alone on the famous slab.
He was not part of the discussions leading up to the revenge raid.
Placement in a closed home
Willingness to follow the course of events?
Fascination for the band of attackers?
In any case, from November 2021, André was placed under the more favorable status of assisted witness.
This did not end his placement in a closed home in Arcueil (Val-de-Marne), for the school year.
In its judgment of December 2022, which
Le Figaro
was able to consult, the court established that André, now in final professional education, "
was not part of the Snapchat group on which the reprisal project was formed
", and that "
his co-indicted unanimously rejected his participation in the facts and even his presence on the scene
”.
The defense brief goes further, citing exchanges in which the main respondents say their incomprehension that André is involved in the case.
"
Risking the assize court for minors, suffering damage for more than a year, that's a lot
" for the profile of the young man, underlines Caroline Girard.
“
His family, they are very good people, they have been fighting for two years.
He is a very stable young man.
They just want to forget.
We fought so that from the home in which he was, he could continue his high school in Malakoff.
He went there but did not return home in the evening, and lived his year alone, withdrawn
”.
The defense says it is considering a request for compensation, no decision has been made yet.