A verdict that “puts the truth back in place”. These are the words used by Théo Luhaka to describe the conviction of the three police officers after his violent arrest in 2017 in Seine-Saint-Denis. Asked on the set of BFM TV, the 29-year-old added: “I never lied in this story, I am very happy that it was heard and that they were punished.”
After two weeks of hearing, the Seine-Saint-Denis Assize Court on Friday evening sentenced three police officers to suspended sentences ranging from 3 to 12 months for this arrest which occurred on February 2, 2017 in the city of 3,000 of Aulnay-sous-Bois, a case made into a symbol of police violence.
An arrest with serious consequences
Among several violent actions considered not justified by the courts is a blow with a baton received by the young man near the anus. This caused the rupture of his sphincter (muscle of the anus) with a wound ten centimeters deep. Despite two surgeries, he now suffers from incontinence.
“My frustration was more that they were found guilty of the acts they committed. Afterwards, anything involving legal sentences is not my area. If judges and juries felt that this is what they deserved, it is actually their job to judge,” said Théo Luhaka on BFMTV, alongside his lawyer Antoine Vey.
A “appeasement decision”, according to Théo’s lawyer
The Assize Court considered in its decision, consulted by AFP, that the victim did not suffer from “permanent infirmity” because his “organic lesions” did not result in “irremediable deprivation” of use for him. of his organ. She therefore convicted the author of the baton attack, Marc-Antoine Castelain, of the lesser charge of violence leading to a 60-day ITT, i.e. an offense and not a crime.
The different parties welcomed a nuanced verdict at the end of the trial. Théo Luhaka’s lawyer described it as a “appeasement decision” while that of police officer Marc-Antoine Castelain expressed his “immense relief”.