The ethics investigation of the President of Paris was to settle the debate on the right of the lawyer Juan Branco to defend Piotr Pavlenski, one of the two main in the Griveaux case. In the end, it is almost nothing.
"There has been no identified conflict of interest [...] that could be opposed to Mr. Juan Branco", began by indicating this Wednesday morning the president of Paris Olivier Cousi in a press release.
Doubts initially weighed on the lawyer and essayist anti-Macron because of his status as organizer of the famous New Years Eve party - for which Pavlenski is also under investigation. Me Branco also assumed to have "advised" Piotr Pavlenski before the posting of the intimate videos that precipitated the fall of Benjamin Griveaux - while disputing having encouraged him to do so.
A new investigation within three weeks
"However, continues the president, the lack of distance shown by Mr. Juan Branco between his mission as a lawyer and the action alleged against his client, as well as his lack of caution during statements in the media exposed him to a risk of breach of essential principles, in particular of independence and prudence ”.
Therefore, "I asked him to get out of the file what he accepted," he added on Twitter ... pending a further investigation by his committee. This "will determine within three weeks if these comments comply with our rules".
Griveaux affair: can Juan Branco be Piotr Pavlenski's lawyer?
As a reminder, Me Branco denounced this weekend an attack on the rights of the defense. Advocating that the prosecution opposed his designation as a lawyer for the Russian artist, indicted Tuesday for the dissemination of videos of a sexual nature of the ex-candidate LREM at the town hall of Paris, like his partner Alexandra de Taddeo . Procedurally, the prosecution cannot alone oppose the choice of a lawyer but it can, when it fears a conflict of interest, seize the president of the bar so that it decides the question.
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It was finally Me Yassine Bouzrou who was appointed on Tuesday to defend the 35-year-old Russian artist. The latter was also quick to denounce the treatment of his colleague, who, according to him, is "under surveillance near his home".
Griveaux case: Piotr Pavlenski has been indicted, according to his lawyer pic.twitter.com/tEtlzAHfq2
- BFMTV (@BFMTV) February 18, 2020
