BFMTV screenshot
The version of Hedi, seriously injured by police officers during the riots in Marseille, is largely reinforced by these video surveillance images revealed by the investigation site.
POLICE – Seriously injured by an LBD shot in Marseille during the nights of riots which followed the death of young Nahel in Nanterre, Hedi has since accused the police of having targeted and severely beaten him. The police officers interviewed, however, minimized the facts, with the exception of one of them. But this Monday, images revealed by Mediapart reinforce the damning testimony of the disfigured young man.
The investigation site revealed on Monday October 2 video surveillance recordings from the night of July 1 to 2, where we can see the violence committed by four police officers.
It was these images which led to the indictment of the four agents and the placement in pre-trial detention for 40 days of the author of the LBD shot which hit Hedi. The latter was finally released on September 1.
Face to face with the BAC
On images from two surveillance cameras, we can first see the police going up a street and checking the condition of the fronts of certain stores during this night of riots. Shortly after, Hedi and a friend entered the same street, “ curious to see what happens there », according to Mediapart. However, the investigation confirms that the 20-year-old young man did not commit any crime.
Once at the intersection of the streets filmed by the two surveillance cameras, the two friends practically come face to face with three police officers from the BAC of Marseille. Hedi, recognizable by the cigarette he lit a few moments before, is then panicked and tries to flee with his friend.
To the IGPN, Hedi then explained that he was “ ran away “, frightened by these police officers with closed faces and visibly ” very tense “. During his run, Hedi then receives an LBD shot from behind, the projectile of which ultimately hits the young man’s head, which is strictly prohibited.
Despite the poor quality of the images, a shadow shows Hedi falling to the ground. Then relieved by another agent, he is taken to the corner of the street, out of sight. A brush later, Hedi is on the ground again and then suffers violent blows from the BAC agents. Kicks and punches clearly visible in these other images. The young man was finally released a few moments later.
Many inconsistencies
During these “ 44 seconds » of violence, many elements contradict the police officers’ version. During their hearings, they notably mentioned the presence of projectile jets in their direction that evening. But as noted by Mediapart on the video surveillance images, no stone throwing – or any other object – is visible between the arrival of the police in the street at 1:51 a.m. and their departure by car at 2:05 a.m.
The other inconsistency largely highlighted by these revelations is the distance of the LBD shooter from Hedi. During his hearing, the BAC police officer claimed that he was at “ 10-15 meters, maybe 15-20 meters » from Hedi at the time of his shot.
However, Mediapart’s findings, taking into account the cameras and the location of the protagonists in the urban space, suggest that the shooting distance was between 5 meters and 8.15 meters. When questioned, the General Directorate of the National Police (DGPN) was not able to confirm to Mediapart the minimum distance to be respected.
Among the other unclear points, the involvement of the commander of the BAC, who has always denied having witnessed the violence, but who nevertheless seems present just after the LBD shot which hit Hedi in the head.
Asked to react, Hedi’s lawyer, Jacques-Antoine Preziosi, “does not see how the commander can escape indictment”he confides to Parisian after the discovery of these new images, which he considers to be of much better quality than those made available during the procedure.
Highlighted by Mediapart, the legitimacy of the LBD shooting and the involvement of the BAC commander are among the points on which the investigation opened by the Marseille prosecutor’s office has yet to rule.
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