Brother of French Man Who Died in Police Custody Injured in Arrest

A man arrested in Paris during a memorial rally for his brother, who died in police custody seven years ago, was released from hospital Sunday, amid calls for more protests.

The appeals for action came with France still on edge after the police killing of a teenager 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, a black 24-year-old, in 2016, many of them in defiance of police bans on gatherings.

According to a police source, Youssouf Traore was injured in the eye during his arrest at the Paris protest attended by some 2,000 people and was taken to hospital after becoming sick at the police station.

Traore appeared with a swollen right eye at a gathering Sunday in support of another man who was arrested at the rally, an AFP journalist said.

According to a medical report seen by AFP, he suffered a fractured nose, head trauma with a black eye, and contusions to his chest, abdomen and lumbar. 

Traore’s lawyer Yassine Bouzrou said he had filed a complaint for deliberate violence.

Traore was arrested on charges of violence against a public official, having been 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.

Traore said he was the victim of “injustice” and denied attacking the police officer.

His sister Assa Traore denounced a police “ambush” and said the images of the arrest revived painful memories. 

“My brother (Adama) died in exactly the same way,” she said.

The second arrested man left custody Sunday, the campaign group set up in Adama Traore’s memory told AFP.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the investigation into Youssouf Traore “was continuing,” while the second man was summoned to appear before a magistrate later.]

The forceful arrest of Youssouf Traore, filmed by several witnesses, showed him resisting and being tackled and held face down by several police officers, sparking condemnation by several left-wing politicians on social media. 

Left-leaning associations, unions and political parties called for another day of mobilization against police violence in Paris on July 15.

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.
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