Opening of an investigation after the death of an unaccompanied 14-year-old minor in Clermont-Ferrand

A judicial investigation was opened after the death of a young 14-year-old migrant, followed by child welfare (ASE) and found hanged in his room, the Clermont-Ferrand prosecutor's office said on Thursday. An investigation and analyzes are “in progress” to research the causes of the death of Abdouramane, 14, which occurred on Friday September 18, public prosecutor Eric Serfass told AFP, confirming information from the daily La Montagne.

The young boy was discovered hanging in a room at the Ddaeomi (departmental system for reception, assessment and guidance of unaccompanied minors) where young people recognized as minors are sheltered and taken care of, according to the same source. According to the account of his entourage collected by AFP, this boy who arrived in Puy-de-Dôme from Guinea Conakry several months ago, was in psychological suffering. Isolated, he complained of not having enough support.

Abdouramane's profile was “complicated, with troubles and trauma linked to his exile and the conditions of his stay in France,” Thierry Tailhandier, one of the leaders of the CGT Santé et Action sociale du Puy-de-Dôme, told AFP. “It’s not an accident” and “despite all the dedication of ASE employees, we lack the means to support these children from the ends of the world,” he added. Since 2019, the departmental council in charge of child protection in Puy-de-Dôme has entrusted, through an agreement to a Toulouse association Anras, the reception, assessment and accommodation of foreign minors.

“It should not be reduced to a file or a number”

If their minority is confirmed, they are placed in child welfare. Questioned by AFP, neither the management of Ddaeomi nor the departmental council wished to make comments, referring to the ongoing investigation. “How can we better protect the children and adolescents in our care? Abdouramane was 14 years old. It must not be reduced to a file or a figure,” reacted on Facebook the opposition group to the Department, La Gauche Sociale et Écologiste – Solidaires par nature.

The LFI MP for Puy-de-Dôme Marianne Maximi estimated for her part that “Abdouramane needed help, and it is the public force which failed in its mission, it is up to them to draw all the consequences”. For PS Senator Marion Canalès, “the upcoming debates in the Senate on the text relating to child protection will be an opportunity to recall our moral duty to act for all the children of France.”