The man, who was taking photos during the demonstration against the pension reform, had to have his testicle amputated after a baton from a police officer.
SourceAFP
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Lhe scene had shocked many Internet users. During the demonstration of January 19, against the pension reform, in Paris, a man who was taking photos received a truncheon from a policeman in the crotch, while he was on the ground. The 26-year-old Franco-Spanish engineer had to have his testicle amputated after this baton, we learned from his lawyer on Sunday January 22.
A complaint for willful violence resulting in mutilation by a person holding public authority is being filed, the young man’s lawyer, Ms.e Lucie Simon, confirming information from the newspaper Release. “It is a criminal qualification, we are not in a state of self-defense or necessity, I want proof of this from the images we have and the fact that he was not arrested afterwards. “says M.e Simon.
On photos circulating on social networks and videos broadcast in particular by BFMTV and AB7 Media, we see a policeman hitting the crotch of a man on the ground, who is holding a camera in one hand, then leaving. . The man had been thrown to the ground by another police officer, according to his account. “It’s such a strong blow that we had to amputate his testicle. An extremely violent and gratuitous gesture which borders on sadism, ”said the lawyer for the engineer, who is still hospitalized.
“A context of extreme violence”
The engineer, who lives in Guadeloupe, “is still in shock and keeps asking why” he was injured. “He did not represent a danger, he feels incomprehension, shock and anger, because he will suffer irreversible consequences”, underlined Me Simon.
The scene took place at the time of clashes between demonstrators and the police, near the Place de la Bastille, with the throwing of projectiles and the use of tear gas.
An internal administrative investigation has been open since Saturday, the Paris police headquarters told AFP. Laurent Nuñez, “the prefect of police, asked the director of public order and traffic (DOPC) that the exact circumstances of the reported incident be clarified”, added the police headquarters. The facts occurred, according to her, “in a context of extreme violence and as part of a police maneuver to arrest violent individuals”.
“Nothing justifies being operated on in this way”
The government spokesman, Olivier Véran, expressed on BFMTV his “empathy” towards the young man while stressing “the need to understand the conditions in which this intervention was carried out” and to “identify what falls within the self-defense “. “It was a fairly heavy sequence for the police, who were, for some of them, attacked” according to the prefecture, he recalled.
“When we look at the image, we are necessarily challenged” and “nothing justifies being operated on in this way, to find ourselves injured”, estimated Olivier Véran.
The demonstration had gathered in the capital 80,000 people according to the Ministry of the Interior and 400,000 according to the CGT.