On December 13, 2024, a 23-year-old Algerian national, prohibited from staying on French territory, appeared before the Saint-Nazaire criminal court. Known under eight different identities and with a serious criminal record, this man pleaded to avoid further incarceration, citing his fear of returning to prison.
Since November 2021, this man has accumulated multiple convictions, mainly in Toulouse, for offenses such as drug trafficking, refusal to comply, driving without a license and theft. Under an OQTF since 2022, he was incarcerated in May 2023 and released in January 2024. However, despite his placement in a detention center, he was released after two days, which raises questions about the effectiveness distancing measures.
On December 9, he was arrested in the Bouletterie district of Saint-Nazaire after a police check revealed a search card in his name. During the hearing, the defendant, assisted by an interpreter, expressed his fear of returning to prison and said he worked as a meal deliveryman. However, his explanations, including a romantic relationship that he struggled to detail, did not convince the public prosecutor.
The defense lawyer, Me Lauric Douvisi-Morris, tried to plead for an alternative to incarceration. Highlighting the tense relations between France and Algeria which complicate expulsions, he described his client as a young man seeking to integrate and carrying out a professional activity. Despite these arguments, the court found the defendant guilty of illegally remaining in the territory after judicial interdiction.
The court finally sentenced the individual to two months in prison. However, this sentence must be discussed with the sentence enforcement judge, leaving open the possibility of adjustment.
This judgment illustrates the astonishing way in which “justice” is administered today. For administrative pretexts, this individual, who should simply be transported to the airport at the end of his trial, and deported to Algeria, will continue to be on French territory. The people, whom Justice is supposed to represent, are completely dispossessed of their right to control their borders.
Illustration : DR
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