The last time he sat on the bench of the defendants, on May 12, in Montpellier (Hérault), Mohamed Houas had promised to “never come back to court” correctional. And yet, it is indeed this same jurisdiction that the pillar of the XV of France faced on Tuesday. But, this time, it was not “youthful mistakes”, a violent brawl or burglaries, for which he had already had to explain himself, which led him to the bar. This time, the MHR player appeared for domestic violence.
Mohamed Haouas, who has been in pre-trial detention since Sunday, is suspected of having hit his partner on Friday in Montpellier. He was sentenced to 1 year in prison, without a warrant. A sentence that will be manageable. The public prosecutor had requested, against him, 2 years of imprisonment, including 1 year accompanied by a suspended sentence.
He surprised her with a cigarette in her hand
The police arrested the pillar of the XV of France on Friday evening. His wife was at his side, shocked, in tears. “Trembling with fear”, says the file, peeled before the criminal court, this Friday afternoon. A few minutes earlier, it was in front of witnesses, at Polygone, that Mohamed Haouas was accused of having hit her violently. The cause seems futile, at first glance: the player surprised her with a cigarette in her hand, in front of this shopping center in downtown Montpellier, where she has been working for a short time. His wife never admitted to him that he happened to smoke, we learned at the bar.
The player is suspected of having advanced towards her, then of having caught up with her, while she was fleeing. It is there, in this shopping center, that the Montpellier resident is accused of having put her on the ground, by hitting her with a trip. “It was not a big brush, replied the player in court. Otherwise, I would have hurt him very badly. He is then accused of having slapped him. Before taking her, holding her firmly by the wrist, then by the hand, to the Foch car park, 800 meters away. Marks on the wrist of the young woman prove it. He wanted, he explained, to take her back to her parents.
“This is the first time that there has been violence, assured his companion. [Des] disputes. Never violence. »
The facts which led, once again, the enfant terrible of rugby to the Montpellier Criminal Court, were filmed by several CCTV cameras. And detailed by witnesses. “Come up! “, would have asked the player to his wife, once arrived at their car. Witnesses tried to prevent him from leaving. In vain.
The victim, mother of two children aged 5 and 20 months, who testified at the hearing on Friday, refused to file a complaint and to see a doctor. Because they have two children, because it is necessary to protect the career of the pillar, she details, in particular. “This is the first time there has been violence,” she said. [Des] arguments, but never violence. This is the first time, she promises, that he has “laid his hand” on her. Her husband has “no psychological hold” on her, she said, when questioned by the court. Moreover, on several occasions, she specifies that she does not want to leave him. She wants to talk to him. But leaving him, no. Mohamed Haouas does not prevent him from doing anything, she promises. He just has “a [mauvaise] experience with cigarettes. He doesn’t like it”.
“I did wrong. I regret, ”assured the player
The player, he assumes. On several occasions, he apologizes to his wife, seated a few meters from him. “I was angry, I did not control myself, he confides. I want to apologize. I like you. I did wrong. I am sorry. She’s my wife, we had a fight. It happens. He tried to justify himself, lamenting that she had lied to him. Several times, the player says he had doubts about the fact that his companion smoked. A package found in a bag, a smell… “She has the right to do it, she is free, she is of age and vaccinated, he assured. But she didn’t tell me the truth (…) She does what she wants, it’s her health. cigarettes are not good for your health. But “that’s not your 10-year-old daughter!” “, Assaults him the judge. The player also had, we decipher in his somewhat disjointed remarks, doubts about a colleague of his wife. “I made films for myself”, says the player, probably jealous of this man. “I told myself that if she can lie for the cigarette, she can lie for something else (…) I did not control myself. »
The prosecutor, in her requisition, deplored that we seem to be doing, this Friday, the trial of a woman “who smoked a cigarette”. While, she recalled, the victim was beaten, violently, in a shopping center. “You should not hit a woman, replied the player. I once defended a woman who was beaten by a man. »