Lawyer Juan Branco, February 14, 2020 in Paris. - Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP

  • Russian artist Piotr Pavlenski has been in police custody since Saturday. He is questioned for having broadcast the intimate videos of Benjamin Griveaux.
  • His partner Alexandra de Taddeo, the alleged recipient of these videos, was also arrested for "invasion of privacy".
  • It is now Juan Branco's place, who presents himself as the couple's lawyer, who questions the prosecution. The controversial figure has made himself known to the general public as a defender of the founder of Wikileaks and author of the Twilight pamphlet, but also for having outraged Secretary of State Gabriel Attal.

What if Juan Branco summed up his character in a tweet? In the middle of the afternoon this Sunday, the far-left lawyer is upset that the public prosecutor's office prevents him from assisting the Russian activist artist Piotr Pavlenski and his companion, Alexandra de Taddeo, heard in the case of the sexual video attributed to Benjamin Grivaux.

The prosecution, in an exceptional violation of the rights of the defense, decided to oppose my appointment by Piotr Pavlenski in the Griveaux case.

- Dr. Juan Branco ✊️ 布蘭柯 (@anatolium) February 16, 2020

Solicited by 20 Minutes , the prosecution declined to comment. But according to several media (L'Obs and Europe 1) in particular, Juan Branco was not appointed by the Russian activist. Even so since Friday, Juan Branco speaks in the media on behalf of this political refugee, behind the images that led to the withdrawal of the candidacy for mayor of Paris de Griveaux, who has since filed a complaint. The young lawyer born in 1989, according to his CV available online, claimed to have been "approached" by the artist to "have a legal opinion on the situation" and to check the "reliability" of the video before it was broadcast.

Lawyer to Julian Assange

It is not the first time that Branco has drawn attention. He even made a specialty of these highly publicized files. It was he who represented the founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange, prosecuted by the American authorities for "computer hacking", after several years of asylum at the Embassy of Ecuador in London. In June 2019, he was also at the origin of a complaint lodged at the International Criminal Court against the European Union and its member states for "crimes against humanity" due to the death of thousands of migrants in the sea Mediterranean.

It is still him who defends the "yellow vest" Maxime Nicole alias "Fly Rider" when he is summoned by the police in April 2019 for "public provocation to the commission of violence". And also when the latter files a complaint against a police officer from the anti-crime brigade for "threats" and "obstructing the freedom to demonstrate".

Committed to the side of France Insoumise

In addition to his career as a lawyer, Juan Branco was hired alongside France Insoumise, a party for which he was a candidate in the 2017 legislative elections in the 12th district of Seine-Saint-Denis. He bowed in the first round. This Sunday, Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the set of BFMTV refused any link between his party and the one who was also his former lawyer, in a case dating back to 2017.

Before this stage, he mobilized for other political causes. In 2011, 20 Minutes interviewed him as an opponent of the Hadopi law and co-founder of an Internet platform "Création public Internet". At the age of 22, he advised socialist Aurélie Filippetti on this subject within the framework of the presidential campaign of 2012. But he will not join the cabinet of the Minister of Culture after coming to power. " He is dangerous. He has talent, he is intelligent, at first we get caught. But after a while, it turns on you. When I became minister, he demanded to become chief of staff when I was 22 ... I told him it was not possible. He took umbrage, “remembers the minister interviewed by francetvinfo.

His “Twilight” pamphlet, 16th best selling in 2019

More recently, he made himself known to the general public by his pamphlet Crépuscule in which he curls Emmanuel Macron. Book in it also reveals the homosexuality of Gabriel Attal, secretary of state to the Minister of National Education and classmate at the Alsacian school, an upscale Parisian high school, according to Express. The book is in 16th place on the annual list of Express and RTL Best Sellers 2019.

Society

What is the risk of disseminating sexual images?

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Can Pavlenski lose his political refugee status?

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