Undocumented Egyptian Files Complaint Over Alleged Police Brutality in Paris Suburb

The victim’s complaint was filed with the assistance of his lawyer, Me Arié Alimi, for "intentional violence [...] in a group, with the use or threat of a weapon, by persons holding public authority [...] on the grounds of the true or supposed membership or non-membership of the victim to a supposed race, ethnicity, nation or particular religion".

The video of his arrest, of unheard-of violence, and which went viral on social networks, shocked the web, politicians and the highest authorities of the State. The day after the incident, the French Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, immediately issued a message of appeasement, arguing that "all the light would be shed" and that the IGPN had already been seized of the matter.

Contrary to the allegations of the police officers recorded in the reports, the lawyer attests that his client never stole or tried to escape by swimming. According to Me Arié Alimi, Samir E. would have first thrown himself into the Seine, "out of fear of police violence". Once on the shore, he would have been "immediately handcuffed by a police officer who also put his hood over his head". The young man would then have received "numerous kicks, punches and batons from all the police officers present on the spot", numbering seven or eight, "including the divisional commissioner of Asnières", he accuses.

According to the lawyer, two points contradict the elements recorded in the report by the police officers involved in this case. In the report, it would be indicated that a crew from the Anti-Crime Brigade (BAC) was first called at 0:52 am on Sunday, April 26, following a witness report, reporting a burglary in progress on an Eiffage construction site, in the town of Asnières, and also reporting the presence of a lookout and two burglars.