Lyhanna case: magistrates and gendarmerie criticised following death of 11-year-old girl
In France, following the death of an 11-year-old child, professionals at Auch court have denounced public pressure, and the head of the gendarmerie has acknowledged shortcomings in the handling of cases involving minors.
Lyhanna case: magistrates and gendarmerie criticised following death of 11-year-old girl
Staff and contract workers at Auch tribunal (Gers) have voted a motion criticising a climate of "mob vindictiveness" fuelled by high-level political statements. According to a document seen by the AFP news agency and revealed by Libération, this growing hostility towards judges is already manifesting itself in insults and death threats targeting the public prosecutor, as well as aggressive behaviour from certain court users during hearings.
The authors of this action are particularly targeting the Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin. He had qualified the previous week's administrative failings as "damning and unacceptable", suggesting that sanctions could be imposed on magistrates if negligence was proven.
In another matter, filmmaker Andrea Bescond, a recognised activist in the fight against assault on minors, was apprehended during a demonstration organised outside the ministry. Her lawyers, Ms Gwendoline Tenier and Marie Grimaud, stated in a press release that she had suffered "twelve hours of arbitrary detention" without questioning, without medical examination and without legal assistance. The public prosecutor subsequently discontinued the case.
On the gendarmerie side, General Hubert Bonneau, who heads it, acknowledged the existence of a "real problem" concerning the recording of cases of sexual violence and rape of children. He specified that his units record an average of four complaints of this type every hour. When questioned about the case of Rosa's mother — another child who has accused a certain Jérôme B. of sexual assault — he acknowledged hearing her distress and committed to examining whether inappropriate exchanges had taken place with military personnel.
The government has set a three-month deadline for handling these cases. Minister Darmanin furthermore urged judges not to turn a blind eye to malfunctions, arguing that such an attitude does not serve the judicial institution.
Source: TF1 Info
Source: Google News LU FR