On Thursday evening four cops arrived at a housing estate in Aulnay-sous-Bois, north of Paris, where they began stopping youths and asked for their identy papers. During the police operation, a 22 year old man, Theo, was allegedly forced to the ground, beaten and raped with a police baton. On Saturday evening riots broke out in Aulnay-sous-Bois, clashes continued on Sunday and Monday. One of the cops has now been charged with anally raping Theo with a police baton. Theo suffered serious injuries to the rectum and needed major emergency surgery. The young man remains in hospital. Three other cops are now charged with assault.
Éric Dupond-Moretti, the lawyer for Theo’s family, said: “This is an exceptionally serious case.” He told France Inter radio: “There was blood everywhere, on the walls.”
Theo has no criminal record and fury broke out in the province town of Aulnay-sous-Bois on Saturday evening. Clashes between cops and residents of the city continued on Sunday and Monday after riot cops were send into the city.French police is known for its racial profiling operations and under the ongoing state of emergency cops are regularly stopping people for ID checks and searches. French cops are regularly accused of using excessive force in poorer neighbourhoods, and particularly against black and minority ethnic suspects.Last summer a young black man, Adama Traoré, died in police custody in Beaumont-sur-Oise outside Paris. The slow reaction of French authorities has sparked accusations of police violence and a state cover-up. Investigations are still ongoing.
In 2005, weeks of riots erupted in dozens of French cities after two teenagers were electrocuted when they were hiding in an electricity substation while being chased by police.
English translation of the testimony of Théo, the 22 year old man who was tortured and raped with baton a by cops in the Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis:
"I‘m going my way and meet the young folks of the hood, when I arrive there, the cops arrive at the same time. And there, they say: everybody against the wall. I‘ve just arrived, take out my headphones, I don‘t understand what‘s going on. When I heard their voice, I knew they weren‘t here just for fun. I go to the wall and a cop beats me. And I knew that there weren‘t any cameras where we were. I told myself: I have to go close to the cameras. I didn‘t try to flee, I tell the cops: you‘ve broken my bag. They responded by insulting me. My back was turned 75% to them, I saw what they were doing behind me. I saw him taking his baton, he put it into my ass, deliberately. I then fell on my belly, I had no force left. I fell on my belly, they put my hands behind my back and handcuff me. They tell me: sit down now. I tell them: I can’t sit, I don’t fell my ass anymore. When they brought me to the car, they continued beating me. They continued beating me inside the car with their hands and their batons, on my private parts. They spitted at me, called me nigger, bamboula, bitch. Arrived at the police station, the cop tells me: sit down. ‘I can’t, Sir.’ Another cop tells me: lie down if you can. We’re going to attach you on the bench anyway because it’s the procedure. The cop saw that I was really bad. I couldn’t breathe, I convulsed a lot. And then, they said: we have to bring him to the hospital, he needs surgery, it’s serious.”
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