Almost seven years after the violent arrest of Théodore Luhaka, in Aulnay-sous-Bois, suspended prison sentences of three months to three years were requested against the police officers involved. The verdict is expected this Friday.
“You may think that these sentences may seem trivial.” Here are the first words spoken by the Advocate General, Loïc Pageot, this Friday, January 19, when recalling his submissions in the trial of the Théo affair between Théodore Luhaka, 22 years old at the time of the facts, and three police officers tried for violence volunteers.
Suspended prison sentences of six and three months were requested by the attorney general against Jérémie Dulin and Tony Hochart, prosecuted for intentional violence. The heaviest sentence was imposed on the peacekeeper, Marc-Antoine Castelain, who was prosecuted for intentional violence leading to permanent disability: three years suspended prison sentence, five years ban on exercise on public roads and a five-year ban on carrying a weapon. The magistrate justified these sentences by the “lack of criminal record” of the three accused and the long time that had passed since the arrest.
Faced with these sentences, the victim’s lawyer, Antoine Vey, insisted on recalling that “this trial is not the trial of the police […] of bad luck, of accident or of legitimate violence, it “is the trial of illegitimate violence by people who wear the badge of the peacekeeper.” “Justice, like the police [is] an institution which has a duty to set an example,” he added.
The victim, now aged 29 and seriously injured in the anus by a baton blow received on February 2, 2017, has irreversible after-effects despite two operations. “Regarding the required sentences: I am not in justice. As long as they are condemned for what they did, everything suits me”, expressed the young man who said he felt like a “living dead ” since his arrest. The court, which adjourned mid-morning, is expected to deliver its verdict during the day.
