The investigating chamber of the Lyon Court of Appeal, which was to examine the case of the death of police officer Myriam Sakhri this Tuesday, postponed the case to Tuesday, November 24. Ultimately, it will have to decide on the possible holding of a trial.
The body of the young woman was found on September 24, 2011 in her official accommodation in the Delfosse barracks in Lyon. Although the investigation concluded that it was a suicide for personal reasons, the family has always questioned this official theory. Recently, the victim’s sisters challenged Emmanuel Macron on this subject through a video posted on social networks.
At the beginning of 2021, the public prosecutor’s office requested the resumption of a judicial investigation for harassment and involuntary homicide, after new testimonies produced by the family.
“We are extremely disappointed”
But during the hearing behind closed doors on Tuesday, the same general prosecutor’s office was not able to rule on the merits, according to the lawyer for the civil parties, who consequently requested, and obtained, a referral to the 24 november.
“It’s an immobility that can raise questions,” reacts Me Vincent Brengarth. And added: “When you have gendarmes who testify to the racism that is taking place and which Ms. Sakhri has denounced, before it turns against her with her being sidelined by her colleagues, this must call out “.
“We are extremely disappointed by the Lyon prosecutor’s office, which did not do its job,” said Nadira Sakhri, sister of the gendarme who had complained for months of being harassed by colleagues and her superiors.
She had hired a lawyer to file a complaint, and an internal investigation had been opened, the conclusions of which she was awaiting. When he died, a note found at his side, written in his hand – “Thanks to G. the asshole! » –, designated the colonel who commanded the Rhône gendarmerie at the time.
A dismissal in 2013 before the reopening of the case
After an initial dismissal of the case, his family, denouncing the partiality of the investigations carried out by the IGGN, filed a complaint, triggering the opening of a judicial investigation in 2012. This resulted in a dismissal of the case in 2013, confirmed on appeal in 2014 then by the Court of Cassation in 2015.
For the family and its lawyers, new testimonies transmitted to the courts demonstrate that she had become “the black beast” of the gendarmerie operations and intelligence center by denouncing the racist, macho and homophobic remarks of certain colleagues. They also shed light on the role played by Colonel G. in “smearing” the gendarme according to some.