Hand of a minor torn off in Saint-Étienne: complaints filed against the perpetrator and Laurent Nuñez

The lawyer of the minor who had his hand torn off by a grenade in Saint-Étienne announced this Monday evening the filing of two complaints, one against the member of the police responsible for the shooting, the other against the Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez. Aged 17 and a first-year mathematics degree student, the young man was seriously injured on Saturday during demonstrations against “the high cost of living”.

The first complaint filed by the victim's lawyer, Me Yassine Bouzrou, targets the police officer or gendarme who fired the shot for “intentional violence leading to mutilation, aggravated by two circumstances: the use of a weapon and the status of person holding public authority”. The second complaint, which Le Figaro was able to consult, targets Laurent Nuñez and was filed before the Court of Justice of the Republic for “complicity in aggravated violence, by instructions”. This jurisdiction has sole jurisdiction to judge crimes and offenses committed by members of the government in the exercise of their functions.

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The Minister of the Interior “must answer for his instructions”

The criminal lawyer criticizes the minister for having reintroduced the use of stun grenades after the suspension decided following the serious injury of a high school student in Lens on October 5. In his complaint, Me Bouzrou specifies that the model of grenade which injured the young man in Saint-Étienne “will have to be determined by the investigation”, as will “the conditions of its use”.

In support of his approach, the lawyer cites in the complaint comments attributed to Laurent Nuñez on October 16, on the eve of the demonstration: “Tomorrow, if there were to be extremely serious urban violence on the sidelines of a procession, or elsewhere, obviously this type of weapon can be used.” “The minister reintroduced these grenades in full knowledge of their dangerousness,” said Me Bouzrou in his press release. Without his decision, our client would have two hands today. His reauthorization constitutes an instruction for which he must respond.”

The General Inspectorate of the National Gendarmerie (IGGN) was jointly responsible for the investigation with the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN). “We are told that it would be a grenade from the gendarmerie. I can't confirm it. There will obviously be an investigation,” declared Laurent Nuñez, shortly after the events.