- Arrested man released from hospital after injury at memorial rally
- Calls for additional demonstrations amid tensions in France
- Resentments and protests continue following police killing and riots
A man who was arrested in Paris during a memorial rally for his brother, who died in police custody seven years ago, was released from the hospital on Sunday amid appeals for additional demonstrations.
After the police shooting of a teenager outside Paris, France was on edge.
Youssouf Traore, 29, was arrested Saturday during nationwide protests honouring his brother Adama’s 2016 death.
A police source said Youssouf Traore was hurt in the eye during his detention at the 2,000-person Paris gathering. And he was taken to the hospital after becoming ill at the police station.
AFP verified “Truth for Adama”‘s Sunday tweet depicting Youssouf Traore with a swollen right eye and ripped T-shirt sleeve.
He had a broken nose, a black eye, and thoracic, abdomen, and lumbar contusions.
According to the account administrators, a formal complaint will be filed “to denounce this severe violence.”
According to a source close to the case, Youssouf Traore was detained on charges of violence against a public official after being accused of hitting a police officer at the beginning of the rally at Place de la République.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said the charges might be revived after his hospitalisation.
pent-up resentments
Multiple witnesses recorded his arrest, which showed him struggling, being tackled, and held face down by police.
Left-leaning associations, unions, and political parties had issued a joint statement calling for a rally on Sunday afternoon in front of a central Paris police station to demand that he and another detained individual be released.
At 2:00 p.m., AFP journalists saw 20 people, including two legislators, outside the station surrounded by eight officers.
Since a police officer fatally shot Nahel M., a 17-year-old with Algerian origins, during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb on June 27, France has been on edge.
The shooting reignited long-simmering resentments and allegations of systemic racism within France’s security forces. And sparked nights of rioting, the country’s worst urban unrest since 2005.
Since Nahel’s death, more than 3,700 protesters, including at least 1,160 juveniles, have been taken into police custody, according to official figures.
