2023-09-02 03:13:07
The Marseille policeman suspected with three colleagues of having seriously injured Hedi, a 22-year-old man, during the riots in Marseille, has been released, his lawyer announced on Friday. He had been in pretrial detention for 40 days.
This official is now “placed under judicial supervision”, his lawyer, Me Pierre Gassend, told AFP. As part of this judicial control, he is prohibited from exercising “the profession of police officer”, insisted in a press release the public prosecutor of Marseille, Dominique Laurens.
“Hedi is appalled”, reacted this Friday evening his lawyer on the air of BFM TV. “He has the impression that there is on the part of the judges, not complacency, but a lack of consideration of the seriousness of the facts”, continued Me Jacques-Antoine Preziosi, announcing that the young man was going to be “operated in a few weeks”.
“Never had the slightest attention to hurt”
At the beginning of August, this policeman had recognized an LBD shot, during a hearing where he asked for his release. Despite overwhelming evidence, he had refuted any intention of committing violence. “Unlike anything that may have been on display, there was never the slightest attention to hurt anyone that night. Shooting was my mission that night,” he added.
VIDEO. Hedi case: a police officer admits having fired at the LBD
He said Hedi had not shown “signs of serious injury, in which case he would have been taken care of and we would have called in the firefighters”. A version that will be called into question by the elements provided by the various surveillance videos.
Christophe “explained the circumstances of this LBD shot, demonstrating that he had used it on the young Hedi, while the latter was in the process of launching a projectile likely to threaten the integrity of his colleagues, ”said Me Pierre Gassend this Friday. “Christophe felt he had done his duty in the exercise of his functions, in a context of urban violence”, he continued.
A piece of his skull removed
Aged 21, Hedi had been hospitalized for several weeks in intensive care. The young man underwent numerous operations and a piece of his skull had to be removed. Disfigured, he had recounted his ordeal in a video published by Konbini.
However, the young man had refused to condemn an entire profession. “The police are important in France. I only blame this group of individuals who allowed themselves that. I hope today that they regret. But in no case would I blame the entire police,” he insisted. And to add: “There are certain black sheep that must be removed”.
His lawyer, Jacques-Antoine Preziosi said he was not surprised by this release “given the extreme pressure in this case”. “Hedi is devastated. He is also in the hospital to undergo examinations because his state of health is deteriorating, ”he added.
“We will now witness a flood of lies between the shooter and the hitters who will say that Hedi was threatening and that they were in self-defense. But the videos say the opposite, ”insisted Me Preziosi.
A sling within the police
The imprisonment of the Marseille policeman at the beginning of August, after that of the policeman indicted for having killed Nahel, 17, in Nanterre at the end of June, had triggered a sling in part of the ranks of the police. The director general of the national police, Frédéric Veaux had caused a reaction by declaring in an interview with Le Parisien that “before a possible trial, a police officer has no place in prison, even if he may have committed faults or serious errors in the course of his work. I exclude from my discussion matters concerning probity or honesty”. Pools of support for the families of the respondents had been opened, before, for some, being suspended.
In total, four cases of alleged police violence have given rise to the opening of investigations in Marseille, one of which has led to the indictment of three Raid police officers following the death of Mohamed Bendriss, 27, most likely hit by a an LBD shot on the same night of July 1-2 that Hedi was seriously injured.
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