Crépol murder: racism aggravating circumstance upheld against 14 persons under investigation
Examining judges upheld the racism aggravating circumstance in late July in the case of Thomas Perotto's death in Crépol. A decision seized upon by right-wing figures as evidence of "anti-white racism".
Crépol case: the law confronts the notion of "anti-white racism"
According to Google News FR — Crime (fr), examining judges decided in late July to uphold the racism aggravating circumstance in the investigation into the death of Thomas Perotto, killed during the night of 18 to 19 November 2023 in Crépol, in the Drôme.
That evening, a winter ball deteriorated into a clash between young people from the village and others who came, in some cases, from the Monnaie district in Romans-sur-Isère. Thomas Perotto was stabbed twice and succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital.
More than two years after the events, and after receiving fresh observations from civil parties, the judges ultimately added this aggravating circumstance to the case against 14 people under investigation for murder and attempted murder.
This decision was welcomed by several right-wing and far-right figures as official recognition of "anti-white racism". The legal fact-checking site Les Surligneurs, whose journalist Maylis Ygrand drafted the analysis with the assistance of Jean-Baptiste Thierry, a professor of criminal law at the University of Lorraine, warns against shortcuts and instrumentalisation of this notion.
For upholding a racism aggravating circumstance in a criminal case does not amount, on the legal plane, to establishing a specific category of "anti-white racism" as a concept recognised by French law. The racism aggravating circumstance, as defined by the penal code, applies where the offence is committed on account of the victim's membership — real or supposed — of an ethnic group, nation, race or religion, whatever it may be.
The investigation had initially been considered closed before the judges returned to this question, following observations filed by the civil parties. This procedural development illustrates the complexity of a case which, beyond the violent acts that occurred in Crépol, continues to fuel political and legal debates in France.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)