Six young people indicted as part of the investigation into the death of young Thomas, stabbed after leaving a ball in Crépol (Drôme), were incarcerated and three others placed under judicial supervision, the prosecutor said this Sunday of the Republic in Valence Laurent de Caigny. A prosecutor who, at the same time, wanted to make it known that “at this stage, the elucidation of the facts committed in Crépol is not complete”. Laurent de Caigny refused to provide any details on the identities of each of the suspects “for obvious reasons of protection” of people and the investigation. 20 minutes takes stock of this affair while government spokesperson Olivier Véran will travel to Crépol tomorrow, Monday, “to express the nation’s support and solidarity with the victims, residents and elected officials of the town.”
What happened in Crépol a week ago?
On Friday, emotions ran high during Thomas’ funeral, celebrated in the presence of around 2,000 people. The 16-year-old young man was injured by a stab during the winter ball organized in the Crépol village hall, on the night of Saturday November 18 to Sunday November 19. “It appears to have been a fight that got out of hand. Things went beyond understanding in a fortuitous and unforeseen, unorganized and uncoordinated manner,” the lawyers of the young people indicted, Me Guillaume Fort and Bilel Hakkar, have argued.
Because on the night of the tragedy, a 20-year-old man, designated as the author of the fatal blows, went with others to the ball bringing together around 400 people. According to the first elements of the investigation, an altercation started inside, perhaps linked to a remark on the haircut of one of the accused, continued outside.
At the time of the violent altercation, as the evening ended and the village hall began to empty, other young people had arrived in one or two vehicles at high speed. On board the latter, passengers deemed “hostile”, according to the press release from the prosecution. The group ended up fleeing in several vehicles.
Thomas, captain of the RC Romans Péage rugby team, died during his transport to hospital. The violence also left eight people injured, three of them seriously.
Where are the indictments?
Saturday, a week after the violence committed in Crépol and after 96 hours of police custody, nine suspects, including three minors, were transferred to the Valence courthouse. The prosecution had requested the opening of a judicial investigation for “organized gang murder”, “attempted murder” or “voluntary violence committed in a meeting”.
“The nine people were indicted in accordance with the requests of the prosecution,” wrote the public prosecutor, Laurent de Caigny. Six people, including two minors, were placed in pre-trial detention by the liberty and detention judge. Three people, including a minor, were placed under judicial supervision. » These young people mostly admit to having been to Crépol but deny having stabbed.
Where is the investigation?
The investigation which led the gendarmes to interview 104 witnesses and quickly identify the attackers who came from the neighboring town of Romans-sur-Isère, has not yet made it possible to fully elucidate the circumstances of the Crépol tragedy. But the first elements draw the scenario of violence occurring for a “futile reason” and not of a premeditated attack targeting the guests of the ball because of their belonging to an “alleged race, ethnicity, nation or specific religion”, according to the prosecutor. of the Republic of Valencia.
On Saturday, Laurent de Caigny stressed that the hearings carried out since the tragedy have not yet allowed “the elucidation of the facts” and in particular to determine the motives, the scenario of the actions, nor all the perpetrators. “All individuals outside Crépol are described as carrying blows, some stabbing”, screams and insults are heard, nine witnesses out of the 104 interviewed hear hostile remarks “to white people”, 12 report having heard “that plant”. The one who had been designated as the author of the fatal blows “was not recognized” by the witness who had designated him, also noted Laurent de Caigny.
Why are no details on the suspects given by the prosecutor?
All we know is that the nine young people were arrested in Toulouse and Romans-sur-Isère during the investigation opened by the gendarmes. Three are minors over 16 years old, the others are between 19 and 22 years old. Some are known to the courts. “At this stage, the elucidation of the facts committed in Crépol is not complete,” declared the public prosecutor in Valence Laurent de Caigny on Sunday, refusing to provide any details on the identities and precise charges brought against each suspect “for obvious reasons of protection” of people and the investigation.
Even if “the motives and motivations of the attackers are not clearly established”, the investigation does not allow at this stage to assert that the victims could have been targeted because of their belonging to an “alleged race, ethnic group, a nation or a specific religion,” said the prosecutor. “The very scenario of the acts, the motives and the identification of all the perpetrators cannot be reduced to denunciations without proof, speculations or hasty interpretations,” warned the prosecutor while the drama sparked an avalanche of reactions from the far right, and from the right on the theme of insecurity and immigration.
What have been the reactions since the tragedy?
More than 6,000 people marched on Wednesday in Romans-sur-Isère in memory of Thomas, during a large white march declared apolitical, while the ultra-right has led a virulent campaign on social networks since the tragedy. On Saturday evening, around 80 hooded ultra-right activists marched near the popular Monnaie district, in Romans-sur-Isère, shouting “Islam outside Europe”, “France belongs to us” or even “Europe , youth, revolution”. They then confronted the police who arrested 20 people, said the Drôme prefecture.
A 20-year-old activist from the ultra-right movement was seriously injured. This young member of the ultra-right, coming from Mayenne, was “taken out of his car by force”, then “beaten up” and his vehicle “burned”, “he was badly bruised”, declared the prefect of Drôme Thierry Devimeux during a press briefing relayed by BFM TV and France 3.
The ultra-right also broadcast images of “spontaneous processions in tribute to Thomas with French flags”, filmed, according to it, in Valencia on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, a mosque in Valence received an Islamophobic letter mentioning the drama in Crépol while Islamophobic tags, including one demanding “justice for Thomas” were discovered on the walls of the mosque in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (Manche). And since Saturday, on social networks, identity influencers who describe Thomas’ death as a “terrorist attack” and “Francocide” continue to call for civil war and revenge.
A new tribute must be paid to Thomas this Sunday in the form of a minute of silence during rugby matches, a sport he played.