France’s internal police investigation service is probing the violent arrest of a man at a memorial service for his brother, who died in police custody seven years ago, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Youssouf Traore, 29, was detained by police Saturday amid protests across the country that commemorated the death of his brother Adama Traore, a black 24-year-old, in 2016, many of them in defiance of police bans on gatherings.
According to a medical report seen by AFP, Youssouf suffered a fractured nose, head trauma with a black eye, and contusions to his chest, abdomen and lumbar region, during his detention.
His brother became a symbol of police brutality and racism in 2016, an issue once again in the spotlight after the jUNE 27 killing of a teenager of Algerian origin sparked a week of riots earlier this month.
The intense urban violence, which saw thousands of cars torched, public property destroyed, and some 3,700 arrested — many of them minors — prompted authorities to ban the rally commemorating Traore’s death.
However, some 2,000 people attended the Paris gathering.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said Wednesday that the IGPN internal police investigation service had launched two probes into wilful aggravated violence.
Traore was arrested on charges of violence against a public official, having been accused of hitting a police officer at the start of the rally at Place de la Republique, according to a source close to the case.
Traore said he was the victim of “injustice” and denied attacking the police officer.
The second investigation relates to a woman shown in images on social media being pushed to the ground by a police officer.
Both Traore and the young woman filed complaints.
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