2023-12-10 09:00:00
When her name is called, following two hours of waiting, she walks upright in front of her lawyer. She gives first and last name. The president asks regarding her situation. She explains that she is following training and that she has already had job interviews, which is always a positive element because, for minor acts, the justice system does not want to force a person into a positive spiral.
The judge says she hopes the young woman will have a job when the case is handled. And she postpones the case until… 2025. The defendant turns to her lawyer, a radiant smile on her lips, stars in her eyes. She leaves the room, visibly relieved.
Who owns the 13,000 euros hidden in a pile of clothes?
A long wait
The two men, who then moved towards the dock, also had to wait a long time. They are two brothers, in their thirties. Youssef and Badir are installed. They are both independent and have no criminal record. Their case is not extremely serious. It dates from 2018 and, since then, they have had a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. Because, once the judicial machine is set in motion, it goes all the way.
A first scheduling hearing was held in 2021. It was postponed until 2022. Due to “crowding in the docket” – the expression used to say that there are too many cases scheduled for a hearing. ‘half day -, the hearing was rescheduled for March 2023. New postponement, due to the absence of the civil party until May 2023. New postponement in May: we will do without the civil party. So it’s December 6th.
The judge details the charges. Both men face threats as well as assault and battery. “Which of you can explain?” asks the magistrate.
Youssef speaks. It details the context. His parents lived in an apartment. There was a fire and they had to leave their accommodation. The landlord, he says, then terminated the lease. The two brothers had to look for a new apartment for their parents. But they had left a certain number of possessions that were close to their hearts in the damaged accommodation.
The two brothers wanted to get them back, but they found that the locks had been changed. It is therefore impossible to enter the apartment. When informed, the police might do nothing. When they finally managed to contact the owner, he told them that he had thrown the parents’ belongings in the trash.
Forty years of memories
“They were married for forty years,” says Youssef, suggesting that there must have been a lot of memories. Later, in a snack bar, the two brothers meet Mohamed, the owner. The discussion gets heated. It seems that we have come to blows. But Youssef is categorical: “I held it. He held me”. In his eyes, they would have only grabbed each other by the collar of the coat.
Unfriendly words would have been exchanged. “Threats?” asks the judge. “He says what he wants,” replies Youssef, while Badir nods. The police came. We left it there.
Mohamed went to the emergency room. The judge reads the medical report: headache, scratches on the temple, swelling on the cheekbone, dermabrasion on the fingers. In support of this observation, the owner filed a complaint.
“The victim speaks of a whim,” indicates the judge. Youssef’s lawyer suggests that this does not match the doctors’ findings.
The judge asks: why not have filed a complaint rather than attacking the owner? “It’s not in our habits,” says Youssef.
For the prosecutor, the facts are objectivized by the certificate and the witness statements. She points out that the two brothers, summoned by the police following Mohamed’s complaint, did not show up. “The facts are old, but serious,” she said before requesting 15 months in prison, without opposing the suspended sentence. She would not object to a work sentence either.
The defense disputes the blows and threats. The lawyer points out that the emergency report was late: nine hours following the events and that the incapacity for work – two days – attests to minor injuries. His main plea is acquittal.
The brothers have the last word. “It’s up to justice to decide. We have always been present. We came to court 4 or 5 times. He is the persecutor. We are the victims.”
Judgment on January 3, more than five years following the events.
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#Memories #years #marriage #trash #blows #fight
