Blows, insults and humiliations: The young man who had assaulted Julia, a transgender woman, at the end of March in the Place de la République in Paris was sentenced Wednesday to 10 months in prison, 4 of which were suspended.
Seddik A., 23 years old, on trial by the Paris Criminal Court, was sentenced for "Voluntary Violence Without Total Disability (ITT) committed on grounds of gender identity". His stay was put to the test. He is also prohibited from coming into contact with the victim and from appearing near his home.
"This trial is a symbol"
"Justice did its job," Julia said after the hearing. "I'm not sure that prison is the best solution, but I hope he'll think about it and he will not do it again." "This trial is a symbol, because French justice today has taken into account the discriminatory nature of transphobic acts," added his lawyer Me Etienne Deshoulières.
On 31 March, at a demonstration in the capital against former Algerian President Albdelaziz Bouteflika, 31-year-old Julia was attacked near a metro station. "Dirty homo", beer throwing, humiliating songs, this saleswoman in a luxury shop that began her "transition" 8 months ago is then targeted by a group of men. On video surveillance projected Wednesday during the hearing, we see Seddik A. touch her hair and give him several violent blows to the face. Julia finally escaped through the metro with the help of several agents of the RATP.
For the defendant's lawyer, the transphobic nature of the assault "has not been proven"
Although he did not deny the violence, Seddik A. said he did not insult transgender people, saying at the hearing that he was not "homophobic". "It is a severe sentence, which responds to the media craze around this issue," said his lawyer Me Mariame Toure. "The transphobic character has not been proven," said his second lawyer Rachid Madid. "Contrary to what some have said, it was not the trial of transphobia: it was the trial of a man who committed violence without ITT, as we see daily in this court," he said. -he adds.
The defendant was also sentenced to pay a fine of 3,500 euros to Julia and 1,500 euros to three associations defending the rights of LGBT persons, who had lodged civil claims.