The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) questioned France after the acquittal last year of the two police officers accused of the rape of a Canadian tourist at 36 quai des Orfèvres in 2014, we learned on Tuesday to the international institution.
In a press release sent Monday to the French government, the Court specifies that it was seized on August 16 by Emily Spanton of a request against France, following the acts committed in April 2014 at the headquarters of the Paris judicial police.
Appeal in Cassation refused
Accused of gang rape, police officers Nicolas Redouane and Antoine Quirin were acquitted on appeal in April by the Val-de-Marne Assize Court.
At first instance, in 2019, they were sentenced to seven years in prison.
After the acquittal, the plaintiff's lawyers had wanted to seize the court of cassation but their request had been rejected in June by the attorney general of this body, François Molins.
One of Emily Spanton's lawyers, Sophie Abadia, announced in the wake of wanting to seize the European Court of Human Rights.
In its press release, the Court recalls the main elements of the investigation as well as the different stages of the procedure followed in France.
It specifies that the applicant “
maintains that the French authorities have disregarded their obligations to criminalize acts of non-consensual sexual penetration and to ensure effective repression of these crimes without secondary victimization
”.
Read also“Neutral sex” in the civil registry: the ECHR does not require France to create a new sexual category
Consequently, the ECHR asks France whether it has complied with its obligations “
to adopt and effectively apply criminal provisions so that all non-consensual sexual acts are criminalized and punished
”.
The Court questions more specifically Paris' compliance with several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights: Article 3 (prohibition of torture), Article 8 (right to respect for private life and family), and Article 6 (right to a fair trial).
