Secondary school student amputated of hand in Lens: his family contests prosecutor's version
Evan, 15, denies picking up the grenade that tore off his left hand during a secondary school protest in Lens. His lawyer denounces a police version supported before his interrogation.
Teenager injured in Lens denies any involvement in violence
According to lemonde.fr, Evan, a 15-year-old secondary school student seriously injured on Monday in Lens (Pas-de-Calais), "denies picking up" the stun grenade that tore off his left hand and "denies any participation in violence". His lawyer, Christine Bouquet-Wattez, issued this clarification in a statement on Saturday 10 October.
The day before, the prosecutor of Béthune, Etienne Thieffry, based himself on the initial elements of the investigation entrusted to the general police inspectorate (IGPN) to determine that the firing of the police grenade — a device of EF-SON type — had taken place "in accordance with the operating procedure" prescribed by regulations.
The prosecutor also indicated that "all witness accounts, with the exception of one, agree that the grenade was fired at long range [80 metres]", that it "landed on the ground" before a protester "seized it until it exploded". Thieffry nevertheless acknowledged that "there is no video available to investigators allowing them to visualise the explosion of the grenade".
The family surprised by the prosecutor's speed
"Evan formally contests the version of events adopted by the prosecutor," responded the teenager's and his mother's lawyer. Bouquet-Wattez emphasised that the family "is surprised to see the police version already supported by the prosecutor, when Evan has not yet been questioned by police, no direct footage of events is available, and the witness statements collected present divergences".
The lawyer insisted on what she describes as an "obvious" fact: the teenager "is the victim". She denounced the fact that "responsibility for his own mutilation is being placed on Evan", adding that "no public order operation could justify an adolescent losing a hand".
An ongoing investigation, a complaint filed
The mother of the secondary school student was questioned on Thursday and filed a complaint "for the injuries suffered by her son", according to the prosecutor of Béthune. The investigation, which aims to determine whether Evan picked up the grenade or whether it landed directly on him, "continues", Thieffry stated.
This matter is inscribed in a broader context of protest. Several secondary school students have been seriously injured since the beginning of the secondary school protest movement in mid-September, and public order methods have provoked strong criticism from the left.
In reaction to the Lens incident, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez ordered on Wednesday the suspension of the use of stun grenades in response to secondary school protests, pending the conclusions of the investigation into the circumstances of Evan's injury.
Source: Google News LU FR