A trial in sight? The Lyon public prosecutor’s office requested the referral to the criminal court of Commissioner Rabah Souchi, his lawyer said Thursday evening, confirming information from
Mediapart. This divisional commissioner had ordered the police charge during which Geneviève Legay was seriously injured, in 2019 in Nice.
“The prosecution performs a balancing act to prosecute my client for complicity in willful violence, without prosecuting the main perpetrator of the so-called violence. We are going to challenge this position ”, also reacted Me Laurent-Franck Liénard.
On March 23, 2019, the Attac activist had several broken ribs and skull fractures by being thrown to the ground during a police charge ordered to disperse a prohibited demonstration of “yellow vests”. The divisional commissioner was in charge of law enforcement operations that day in Nice.
“The contractors will have to report”
In its investigation report, the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) had found the charge disproportionate because of “unsuitable” orders. And the commissioner was indicted in November as part of a disoriented investigation, after a heated controversy around the case fueled by the contradictory views of the authorities.
The public prosecutor of Nice at the time of the facts had first denied any physical contact between the victim and the police, remarks echoed by President Emmanuel Macron. After the exploitation of video surveillance images, the magistrate had recognized that Geneviève Legay had been pushed by a police officer.
“In the future, policymakers in the maintenance of order will have to report police violence to the correctional courts. We are waiting for the Interior Ministry to draw all the consequences, ”commented Thursday evening’s lawyer for the septuagenarian, Me Arié Alimi.