A French court ruled that one of the police officers suspected of seriously injuring a young man with a blast ball during recent riots in Marseille, southern France, should remain in pre-trial detention, in order to "prevent any concertation" with the other three police officers accused.
In a stern statement, the investigating judge at the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal ruled that, despite his partial confession on Thursday when the police officer admitted to firing the blast ball, his initial "fallacious denial" had "discredited the whole of what he said."
The case has sparked heated debate over police behavior during the unrest that rocked France in June and early July after the killing of a teenager by police during a traffic check near Paris. In the incident in Marseille, on France's southern coast, a man named Hedi, 22, says he was beaten by four or five men he identified as police during unrest in the city.
He says he was also hit in the head by a blast ball fired by police and underwent operations during which surgeons said they had to remove part of his skull. Also known as rubber ball grenades, blast balls are sometimes used by police in riot situations.
Hedi's lawyer said he was "satisfied" with the court's decision, believing that "justice will prevail." "I'm satisfied, because it will allow the information to progress more smoothly", said Jacques-Antoine Preziosi after the decision was announced, adding that "the police must accept this incarceration, which is in the interests of justice."
Four police were charged last month over the incident, including the officer remanded in custody who has been identified only by his first name, Christophe. He admitted in court on Thursday to having fired a blast ball round but said he did not see anybody injured. His lawyer added that there was "no proof" it was his round that had wounded Hedi. CCTV footage, meanwhile, left no doubt that Hedi had been beaten up, the prosecutor said.
Last month, police chief Frédéric Veaux said that "a police officer should not be in prison" ahead of his trial, "even if he may have committed serious faults or errors."
The policeman's lawyer has argued that there was no flight risk for his client or any risk of him putting pressure on Hedi, but the prosecutor said there was a danger of the officers fabricating a narrative about the incident if he was allowed out of custody. He should therefore be detained "at least until his interrogation" scheduled for August 30, the prosecutor said. The court is to make its decision on any further detention later Thursday.
The four policemen have been charged with "deliberate violence leading to a complete incapacity to work," with aggravating circumstances including collusion and threat or use of a weapon by a public official. They have been ordered to abstain from any contact with each other or with the victim.
After the officer's arrest, several hundred Marseille police officers went on sick leave in protest over his detention. Others responded to the call of the SGP Police Unit union and put themselves under "code 562", which means that they only respond to emergency and essential missions.
Socialist Party chief Olivier Faure called the police reaction "extremely serious" and called for the law to be respected. "The entire police hierarchy is placing itself above justice and the rules of pre-trial detention," he said.