- Cédric Herrou is retried on appeal, after the consecration of the "principle of fraternity" by the Constitutional Council, for "assistance in illegal entry into French territory".
- The Advocate General requested 8 to 10 months suspended prison sentence against him before the Lyon Court of Appeal.
- The decision was reserved for April 15.
For the Advocate General, "immunity cannot apply". The representative of the prosecution requested Wednesday evening in Lyon 8 to 10 months suspended prison against Cédric Herrou, symbol of aid to migrants tried again on appeal after the consecration of the "principle of brotherhood" by the Constitutional Council in 2018. The decision was put under advisement on April 15.
Aid for illegal entry into French territory was not retained by the Elders and does not benefit from humanitarian immunity. "Cédric Herrou has repeatedly admitted the materialization of this offense," ruled Fabrice Tremel before the Lyon Court of Appeal. "He made the choice to be, in the literal sense of the term, an outlaw. He knows he has crossed the yellow line, ”said the Advocate General. Cédric Herrou "did not have an exclusively humanitarian goal but an ideological, militant claim," he said.
"Neither other goal than a humanitarian goal"
"No, this assistance given to migrants had no other meaning or purpose for him than a humanitarian one," argued Sabrina Goldman, one of Cédric Herrou's two advisers, asking the relax. Me Zia Oloumi considered that it was “a trial of intention”, insisting on “the vacuity of this file for the facts of illegal entry”. "If we are talking about minors or asylum seekers, there is no irregular situation."
The farmer from the La Roya valley, on the French-Italian border, had seized the Constitutional Council after being sentenced in August 2017 to four months suspended prison sentence by the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal for having brought some 200 migrants, mainly Eritrean and Sudanese, to his home and organized a reception camp.
On July 6, 2018, the Wise Men consecrated the “principle of brotherhood”. "Disinterested aid to migrants, whether individual or militant and organized, must not be pursued", decided the Constitutional Council. The result is "the freedom to help others, for a humanitarian purpose, without regard to the regularity of their stay on the national territory". In cassation, the Court annulled in December 2018 the conviction of Cédric Herrou, referring the case to the Lyon Court of Appeal.
"How can solidarity be a crime? "
The Court of Cassation "asked the Lyon Court of Appeal to judge this case in the light of the new text" of the Asylum and Immigration Law, President Jean-Jacques Baudino explained at the start of the hearing.
"How can solidarity be a crime? "He exclaimed. "What we have done," he continues, "is to come to the aid by humanity of people in distress. And help them apply for asylum ”. Since April 2017, he explains, "we have also set up a protocol with the gendarmerie so that these people can accede to the asylum request and that minors are protected".
Justice
After the consecration of the "principle of fraternity", Cédric Herrou again before the courts
Nice
Cédric Herrou arrested for the 11th time on the French-Italian border
- Court of Appeal
- Help
- Nice
- Migrants
- Justice
- Lyon