France: Amnesty considers the arrest of dozens of Paris protesters to be arbitrary

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Amnesty International in France, Monday, considered that the arrests carried out on 12 December during protests in Paris in which tens of thousands of people participated against the controversial comprehensive security bill in France, were arbitrary.

A study conducted by the French branch of the human rights organization concluded that out of 142 detainees; 124 were placed in custody pending investigation, and 80% of them were not charged in the end.

A similar percentage was recorded between the number of detainees and the number of those who were ultimately charged during the Zero Vest movement, which reached its peak in late 2018 and early 2019, according to Paris' Attorney General Remi Hitz.

Amnesty International, which joined a wide range of organizations opposed to the draft security law, said it had legitimate concerns about the potential for arbitrary arrests and other human rights violations.

What is the project?

The French draft comprehensive security law imposed restrictions on photographing police officers and publishing pictures on social media, especially to document cases of police violence, and this bill was abandoned.

Anne-Sophie Sempire of Amnesty International, who co-authored the report, said in a press release; The protest march of December 12th in central Paris did not witness noticeable violence," adding: Nothing justifies what happened in terms of arrests or accusations.

The report focused on police interrogations, medical certificates and judicial documents in 35 cases of persons who were placed in custody pending investigation without any charges being brought against them, and two were arrested for about five hours, and 33 others were held overnight.

A large unit of police advanced and surrounded the demonstrators on both sides, preventing any of them from leaving the protest site.

Ambiguous laws and based on testimonies and video clips, Amnesty International said that the arrests were not preceded by audible warnings and were carried out at moments during which the protest was not witnessing significant disruption.

I was surprised by the strategy," lawyer Alexis Bodlan, who was arrested for investigation during the protest, said in a press statement. At every intersection, the security forces stopped peaceful demonstrators without reason or prior warning.

Police later said that this attacking method was aimed at preventing the formation of chaotic groups after two consecutive weeks of violent demonstrations in Paris.

The organization also referred to the occurrence of arrests based on vague laws, the most prominent of which is one against participating in a group aimed at planning violence" that was relied on in 25 of the cases included in the study.

Suspicion cases

In only two of the cases studied, the detainees were carrying devices that could justify the suspicion of violent intent.

It is a blanket violation to punish an act before it is committed, Cimper said.

This lack of accuracy may violate "human rights without justification," according to the report.

Lara Bellini, whose 16 year old son was arrested for 20 hours before he was released without being accused of a misdemeanor or crime, explained in a press statement: They (the police) told me that he belongs to a gang of villains. This is unreasonable. My son is an activist; But he is not a violent person.

In five cases, police used a law passed in March 2019 to impose a ban on presence in Paris of up to six months.

Amnesty International said that the ban allowed punishment without trial, and without the possibility of appeal, and called on Parliament to repeal the legislation.