Family Seeks to Reopen Case of French Gendarme’s Suicide Amid Harassment Claims

The facts date back to September 24, 2011, when Myriam Sakhri shot herself in the chest at the Delfosse barracks in Lyon, leaving a small note directly pointing to her hierarchical superior. "Thank you to G. the asshole!", she had written. But six months after her death, the investigation concluded that it was a "suicide for personal reasons" and the harassment hypothesis had been dismissed, reports Le Monde.

Nevertheless, her relatives remain convinced that there is a connection between the dramatic act of the soldier and the harassment she would have been a victim of, especially racist remarks. Despite her complaints, no intervention was taken by her hierarchy, the newspaper pointed out.

According to Mes Vincent Brengarth and William Bourdon, the family’s lawyers, new elements have emerged in recent years. Moreover, they denounce "serious shortcomings in the conduct of the investigation", deploring that "the principles of impartiality and independence have been flouted", with "pressures" on witnesses during the investigations.

Based on these facts, the two lawyers and three sisters of gendarme Myriam Sakhri are demanding the resumption of the investigations, but this time an independent investigation, in order to determine the involvement of each one, and in the hope that after nine years, the parties concerned can really speak.