AFP
A man arrested in Paris during a memorial rally for his brother, who had died in police custody seven years ago, has been hospitalised, a Paris prosecutor said Sunday, triggering calls for more protests.
The calls came with France still on edge after the police killing of a teen near Paris sparked the worst rioting in the country since 2005.
Youssouf Traore, 29, was detained by police Saturday amid protests across the country that commemorated the death of his brother Adama Traore in 2016, many of them in defiance of police bans on gatherings.
Youssouf was arrested during a protest in Paris attended by some 2,000 people, part of a string of protests to mark his brother’s death and to protest against police brutality.
According to a police source, Youssouf Traore was injured in the eye during his arrest and was taken to hospital after becoming sick at the police station.
Youssouf Traore was arrested on charges of violence against a public official.
The charges have been lifted due to his hospitalisation, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, but could be reinstated later once he is discharged.
The Paris prosecutor’s office didn’t give any details on his condition.
Contacted by AFP, his lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, confirmed he has spent the night in hospital gave no update about his health. He added he had not yet spoken to Traore.
Youssouf Traore was accused of hitting a police officer at the start of the rally at Place de la Republique, according to a source close to the case.
According to police, he was subsequently arrested for the alleged incident after police identified him.
The forceful arrest, filmed by several witnesses, showed him resisting and being tackled and held face down by several police officers, provoking condemnation by several left-wing politicians on social media.
A joint statement by left-leaning associations, unions and political parties had called for a rally Sunday afternoon in front of a central Paris police station to demand that he and another person detained with him be released.
France has been on edge since a police officer shot dead Nahel M., a 17-year-old with Algerian roots, during a traffic stop on June 27 in a Paris suburb.
The shooting rekindled long pent-up frustrations and accusations of systemic racism among France’s security forces and sparked nights of rioting, the worst urban unrest in the country since 2005.
More than 3,700 people were taken into police custody in connection with the protests since Nahel’s death, including at least 1,160 minors, according to official figures.
