Bloomberg.com
Gregory Viscus
April 1, 2009 18:15 EDT
French authorities rarely investigate or punish cases of police brutality, leading to “de facto impunity” for security forces in the country, Amnesty International said in a report.
While victims of alleged police brutality in France come from all ages and groups, the majority are from ethnic minorities or are foreigners, the human rights group said.
“Allegations of police ill-treatment, racial abuse and excessive use of force continue while procedures for investigating such allegations are still failing to live up to the standards required by international law,” Amnesty said.
Of 663 complaints examined by inspectors in 2005, 16 ended in the dismissal of officers involved, Amnesty said. In 2006, only eight dismissals resulted from 639 probes.
Guillaume Didier, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry, rejected the findings.
“When there is a complaint, there is systematically an investigation,” Didier said in a telephone interview. “If there are grounds to pursue the matter, it is systematically taken up by the justice system, where it is handled by an independent magistrate.”
He said 131 government workers “with authority,” a wider category than just police, were punished for mistreatment or abuse of power in 2007, up from 125 in 2006.
Death of Son
Boubaker Ajimi, a 51-year-old mason, says he’s still waiting for charges to be brought against the policemen he blames for the death of his son, Abdelhakim, last May.
Bank employees in the southern town of Grasse had called the police when the 22-year-old cooking student harangued the branch manager and then stormed out after being refused an advance. The police caught up with him as he was nearing his home.
When he resisted arrest, four policemen wrestled him to the ground and cuffed his wrists and ankles. According to witness accounts in court documents seen by Bloomberg News, one policeman maintained a chokehold while another hit him even after he’d been immobilized.
“He was nervous that day, and we accept that the police had the right to subdue him,” the father said in an interview. “But we have 20 witnesses, including two police, saying they continued to use excessive force even after he couldn’t move.”
The Tunisian-born Abdelhakim was pronounced dead after being driven to a police station. His application for French citizenship was approved a month later. His only previous run-in with the police was when he was caught smoking a joint, his father said. He wasn’t prosecuted.
‘Waiting for Justice’
“I’m waiting for justice to be done,” Boubaker said. “The night of his death, my family told young people in our neighborhood to control their anger, to trust the justice system. Now I’m disgusted.”
The policemen involved have been questioned and the investigation continues, Amnesty said.
Amnesty’s report includes 14 case studies of police violence since 2004. In five of the cases, police accused the alleged victims of disorderly conduct or resisting arrest after they complained of their mistreatment.
Increasingly, “people who are the victims of or witnesses to ill-treatment by law enforcement officials find themselves charged with the criminal offenses of insulting or assaulting a police officer,” it says.
Didier said he couldn’t comment on individual cases.
To contact the reporter for this story: Gregory Viscusi in Paris at gviscusi@bloomberg.net.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aibWemUMa0GA&refer=europe
Gregory Viscus
April 1, 2009 18:15 EDT
French authorities rarely investigate or punish cases of police brutality, leading to “de facto impunity” for security forces in the country, Amnesty International said in a report.
While victims of alleged police brutality in France come from all ages and groups, the majority are from ethnic minorities or are foreigners, the human rights group said.
“Allegations of police ill-treatment, racial abuse and excessive use of force continue while procedures for investigating such allegations are still failing to live up to the standards required by international law,” Amnesty said.
Of 663 complaints examined by inspectors in 2005, 16 ended in the dismissal of officers involved, Amnesty said. In 2006, only eight dismissals resulted from 639 probes.
Guillaume Didier, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry, rejected the findings.
“When there is a complaint, there is systematically an investigation,” Didier said in a telephone interview. “If there are grounds to pursue the matter, it is systematically taken up by the justice system, where it is handled by an independent magistrate.”
He said 131 government workers “with authority,” a wider category than just police, were punished for mistreatment or abuse of power in 2007, up from 125 in 2006.
Death of Son
Boubaker Ajimi, a 51-year-old mason, says he’s still waiting for charges to be brought against the policemen he blames for the death of his son, Abdelhakim, last May.
Bank employees in the southern town of Grasse had called the police when the 22-year-old cooking student harangued the branch manager and then stormed out after being refused an advance. The police caught up with him as he was nearing his home.
When he resisted arrest, four policemen wrestled him to the ground and cuffed his wrists and ankles. According to witness accounts in court documents seen by Bloomberg News, one policeman maintained a chokehold while another hit him even after he’d been immobilized.
“He was nervous that day, and we accept that the police had the right to subdue him,” the father said in an interview. “But we have 20 witnesses, including two police, saying they continued to use excessive force even after he couldn’t move.”
The Tunisian-born Abdelhakim was pronounced dead after being driven to a police station. His application for French citizenship was approved a month later. His only previous run-in with the police was when he was caught smoking a joint, his father said. He wasn’t prosecuted.
‘Waiting for Justice’
“I’m waiting for justice to be done,” Boubaker said. “The night of his death, my family told young people in our neighborhood to control their anger, to trust the justice system. Now I’m disgusted.”
The policemen involved have been questioned and the investigation continues, Amnesty said.
Amnesty’s report includes 14 case studies of police violence since 2004. In five of the cases, police accused the alleged victims of disorderly conduct or resisting arrest after they complained of their mistreatment.
Increasingly, “people who are the victims of or witnesses to ill-treatment by law enforcement officials find themselves charged with the criminal offenses of insulting or assaulting a police officer,” it says.
Didier said he couldn’t comment on individual cases.
To contact the reporter for this story: Gregory Viscusi in Paris at gviscusi@bloomberg.net.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aibWemUMa0GA&refer=europe
