Police officers avoid jail for beating young black man in attack that left him with serious anal injuries in case that has rocked France

Three French police officers were given suspended prison sentences for using excessive force during the arrest of a young black man in 2017, a French court ruled on Friday. This led to protests outside the courtroom calling for him to serve a prison sentence.

The arrest of Theodore Luhaka in the Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois after an identity check in 2017, when he was 22, was one of several cases in recent years that have brought French police under scrutiny for racism and violent misconduct. to street protests.

Police officer Marc-Antoine Castelain received a one-year suspended prison sentence for voluntary violence for beating Luhaka and causing him serious anal injuries with a police baton, causing him to become incontinent.

He also developed four inches of gas in his colon.

Judges ruled on Friday that Luhaka’s injury could not be considered a permanent disability, despite a 2019 medical report finding he would need lifelong treatment for his injuries.

He was beaten by three officers, who caused him serious anal injuries, and left him with four inches of gas in his intestine.

The rape charges initially filed against Castelain were dropped before the trial

The rape charges initially filed against Castelain were dropped before the trial.

Two other officers, Jeremy Dulin and Tony Hochart, who were present and punched Luhaka during his arrest, were each given a three-month suspended sentence.

Castelain was banned from working as a police officer in public spaces for five years, while the other two officers were banned for two years.

Luhaka’s lawyer, Antoine Vey, said the decision is a “victory” that confirms that “Theo was a victim and nothing justifies him being beaten.”

However, demonstrators at the courthouse shouted slogans calling on police to serve jail time.

“It is a masquerade to be banned for life for mutilating Theo,” said one of the protesters, Samia El Khalfaoui, whose cousin Souheil was killed by a police officer in 2021.

Defense lawyers told the court during the trial that the officers’ use of force was legitimate, necessary and proportionate. Castelain’s lawyer said allegations of racism against his client were unfounded.

Protesters at the courthouse shouted slogans calling on police to serve jail time

Then-French President Francois Hollande (photo, right) visited Theo in hospital after the attack

Luhaka, now 29 years old, said during the trial that he has been “living dead” since the arrest.

He told reporters before the verdict that the length of the sentence did not matter to him as long as the officers were found guilty and the truth was told.

Prosecutor Loic Pageot had sought a three-year suspended prison sentence for Castelain, ruling that Luhaka’s injury was a permanent disability. He asked for six-month and three-month suspended prison sentences for the other two officers.

“We need a police force that protects us, not police officers like these who use unnecessary force,” he told the court on Thursday, describing the force as unnecessary and “vindictive” because Luhaka did not pose an immediate threat.

Luhaka, now 29 years old, said during the trial that he has been “living dead” since the arrest.

Before the verdict, he told reporters that the length of the sentence did not matter to him as long as the officers were found guilty and the truth was told.

Most cases against police officers for voluntary violence in France are dismissed before going to trial, and in 2021 less than 15% of guilty verdicts resulted in actual prison sentences, official data shows