French president demands justice for Black youth raped with police baton

French President François Hollande on Tuesday called for “justice” over the rape of a Black youth with a police baton, an incident that has sparked 10 nights of rioting and more than 200 arrests in Paris.

“Justice must be served,” Hollande said during a visit to Aubervilliers, located in the tough Seine-Saint-Denis region northeast of Paris where the 22-year-old youth worker, identified only as Théo, was assaulted on 2 February. Police stated that the man was “accidentally” anally raped. 

But Hollande also condemned the ensuing riots, which have shaken the belt of maily immigrant-populated suburbs surrounding Paris.

The injuries sustained by Theó during a stop-and-search operation in the suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois have sparked clashes with police and arson attacks across the impoverished, ethnically-mixed housing estates that ring the French capital.

The interior ministry said 245 people had been arrested over the protests, which began on 4 February. Several dozen have been taken into custody.

Théo suffered severe anal injuries requiring hospital treatment during his arrest by four officers, one of whom allegedly sodomised him with a truncheon.

French President François Hollande visited Théo in hospital last Tuesday, but the visit could not stop the protests / Photo: Twitter/French Presidency

One officer has been charged with rape and the three others with assault. All four have been suspended from the force.

On Tuesday, a separate investigation was launched into claims that one of the four officers had beaten up another Black youth in Aulnay-sous-Bois on 26 January.

The youth, also aged 22 who gave his name as Mohamed K, told L’Obs news weekly that he had been punched, kicked and beaten with a baton. Pictures published by the paper showed severe swelling and bruises to his face.

Hollande said France was determined to “show that we are capable of living together in a peaceful society, but where respect is the rule and where we must be firm towards those who diverge from this principle”.

Separately, leading French artists launched an appeal calling for far-reaching reforms of the police to prevent similar episodes of alleged brutality.

The call, published in Wednesday’s edition of the leftwing daily Liberation, urged the use of cameras on police uniforms, the reintroduction of neighbourhood policing and an overhaul of training policy.

The nationally-known signatories included movie director Nils Tavernier, singer Patrick Bruel, actresses Josiane Balasko and Mathilda May, and Olivier Py, director of the Avignon arts festival.

‘Fuel to the fire’

With presidential elections in April and May, the alleged assault, which follows the death of a young Black man in police custody in another Paris suburb last year, has become a campaign issue.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Monday launched a petition “to support the police” after blaming “laxism in French society” for the problems of the restive suburbs.

The head of the anti-immigration National Front party called for a “major tightening of the screws” to boost police capabilities.

Socialist presidential candidate Benoit Hamon lashed Le Pen, saying she was “adding fuel to the fire”.

“She encourages violence through her hateful rhetoric,” Hamon said.

On Monday, Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux made an appeal for “responsibility, calm (and) faith in the justice system”.

Adira Kallo with AFP report

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