A more symbolic sentence than with real consequences. A court in the Paris region sentenced this Friday one year suspended prison to the police officer Marc-Antoine C. for having anally assaulted with his baton to the young Théo Luhaka, brutally arrested in February 2017 in Aulnay-sous-Boisin the north of the banlieue Parisian. The French Justice has also pronounced sentences of three months of suspended prison for the other two agents who participated in that arrest.
The brutal arrest of young Théo, 22 years old at the time of the events and black skin, represented one of the cases of police abuse with the greatest media impact during the past decade in France. The problem of police violence is entrenched in the neighboring country and mainly affects young people in peripheral neighborhoods, many of them with foreign roots.
The final sentence in Théo’s case has been lower than the sentences that the attorney general had requested: three years in prison for the main agent involved and six and three months for the other two. Despite this, the Court of Bobigny (northern outskirts of Paris) has found them guilty of the crimes of “voluntary violence” and in “meeting”, with the aggravating circumstance of being part of the police force. He has also rejected the officers’ argument that they acted in self-defense.
“The violence he suffered was illegitimate”
As these were conditional sentences and they had no antecedents, none of the three agents will be imprisoned. But the sentences do include a ban on practicing on public roads and carrying a weapon for five years for Marc Antoine C., as well as the same punishment for two years for the other two agents. He trial had started on January 9 and culminates with this half-measured sentence, which may leave both unconditional supporters of the security forces and anti-racist militants who denounce police violence dissatisfied.
“This decision establishes the truth in this dossier and clearly states that The violence that Théo suffered was illegitimate”, highlighted the prosecution’s lawyer, Antoine Vey, who recalled that “there was no reason for Théo to be detained that day.” “This is a moderate sentence,” said Thibault de Montbrial, the lawyer for the main convict, upon leaving the courtroom where anti-racist militants were making proclamations of “Without justice there is no peace.”
“The response given (with this sentence) to the police officers and police unions is that they can continue and that they should not fear anything”, lamented Amal Bentounsi, founder of the collective “Our murderous police are urgent.” and whose brother died in 2012 after being shot in the back by an officer, sentenced to five years in prison in 2017.
A case that marked the 2017 presidential campaign
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The harsh detention of Théo, with a anal penetration with a baton that broke his sphincter, represents one of the iconic cases of police abuse in the neighboring country. The scenes of his arrest were recorded by Aulnay-sous-Bois video surveillance cameras and led to several nights of riots. Occurred in full campaign of the 2017 presidential elections, that incident put the problem of police violence as one of the topics of debate in those elections, in which Emmanuel Macron won. The then centrist candidate, 37 years old, had denounced these events as an example of “police violence.” and “illegitimate force.”
Despite this position seven years ago, the president has not remedied the abusive use of force by the security forces. He problem has worsened since then. To the point that the death of the 17-year-old teenager Nahel—shot at point-blank range by an officer during a traffic stop—led to the riot of the banlieues at the end of June last year. And it represented the largest wave of unrest in the bustling neighboring country since 2005. One more sign that the problem continues, despite investigations and judicial rulings.