It is a new judicial standoff that begins between the police and the Traoré clan.
The Versailles public prosecutor's office announced Friday, September 18 the opening of a judicial investigation for "search for the causes of death" after the controversial drowning in the Seine of Mahamadou Fofana, cousin of Adama Traoré, this young man of 24 years who became a symbol in France of the fight against police violence, after his death in July 2016 following a strong arrest by the gendarmes.
In the Mahamadou Fofana case, it all started with a phone call from a local resident to the police, Sunday, September 13, to report a theft of two-wheelers in Marly-le-Roi, in the Yvelines.
Police officers from the Bac, the anti-crime squad, went there and spotted five men loading a motorcycle into a van.
At around 11 p.m., they chased the utility and caught up with it.
The driver then stops the vehicle, flees and then throws himself into the Seine, according to the version given by the police.
Still according to the police, the man would have then tried to turn around to regain the bank but drowned a few meters from the edge despite the intervention of an agent to help him.
However, the version of the police is questioned by the entourage of Mahamadou Fofana, who calls for witnesses because the place of the tragedy does not have any surveillance camera that would clarify the circumstances of this chase and of its fatal outcome.
The autopsy gives rise to contradictory versions
As with the death of his cousin in 2016, many gray areas remain to be clarified in this case.
At the heart of the controversy, the autopsy of the body.
According to a first report quoted by the prosecutor of Versailles, Maryvonne Caillibotte, Wednesday September 16, "all the signs conclude with a drowning" of Mahamadou Fofana.
An affirmation that makes Yassine Bouzrou jump.
Reached by France 24 on the phone, the family lawyer strongly contests this version and evokes "serious and recent injuries to the shoulder and head which may correspond to a shock against a hard shot".
The existence of these lesions and of a depression in the skull was confirmed by several media which were able to access the autopsy report.
The prosecutor of Versailles for her part mentioned Wednesday "skin abrasions on the skull which are recent and some on the right shoulder", specifying that, according to the lawyer, they "did not play a role in the mechanism of deceased".
Me Bouzrou, who filed a complaint for intentional homicide, accuses the prosecutor of Versailles of "concealment".
According to him, the prosecution failed to indicate the presence of these lesions and prevented the family from seeing the body.
In addition, the lawyer is indignant that the magistrate hastened to "criminalize the victim" by recalling in the press the criminal record of Mahamadou Fofana, who had been the subject of an arrest warrant since 2017 and of a sentence of 18 months in prison for drug trafficking.
Asked about possible similarities with the Adama Traoré affair, Me Bouzrou affirms "to see points in common with many cases of alleged police violence".
The "Truth for Adama" committee mobilizes
On social networks, the committee "The truth for Adama" gives voice to challenge the police version.
In a video posted on her Facebook account, Mahamadou Fofana's sister evokes "very unclear circumstances [of his death]" and says "does not believe at all" the police statements and wants to "reestablish the truth".
Press conference in front of the Garches forensic institute
Posted by The Truth for Adama on Wednesday September 16, 2020
At his side, Assa Traoré, Adama's sister, figurehead of this committee whose call to demonstrate against the violence of the police on June 2, had brought together tens of thousands of people in front of the court. from Paris, assures us that his cousin was struck.
"He has injuries. One has the impression that he was beaten with a baton," protested the activist in this video shot in front of the Garches forensic institute in Hauts-de-Seine.
A photograph of Mahamadou Fofana was also posted on Friday with the following caption: "He was engaged in the Fight for Truth and Justice for Adama. He was engaged against police violence. Unfortunately, he too died in a chase. with the police. Sad fate. Truth and Justice for Mahamadou! "
His name was Mahamadou Fofana He was a son He was a brother He was a husband He was a father He was a ...
Posted by The Truth for Adama on Friday September 18, 2020
It is now up to an examining magistrate to answer the many questions asked by relatives of Adama Traoré's cousin.
This investigation could take several months.
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