reprieve for four men after beating at village festival

The attackers of two men from Guadeloupe and Mayotte during a village festival in 2022 in Aude were sentenced on Wednesday in Carcassonne, which however did not retain a racist character, as demanded by an association. An 18-month suspended sentence was handed down by the criminal court against one of the ringleaders of the attack. Two other attackers, including a deputy mayor of the commune of Verzeille, were given a one-year suspended sentence, while a fourth defendant was acquitted.

The four men were tried on September 4 for violence committed on July 24, 2022 during the ball of the annual village festival. That evening, the victims were suspected of having bitten other revelers, in a context of multiple complaints, in France, for stings in nightclubs, bars and festivals. Then the two men were chased by several people and severely beaten.

“A denial of justice”

“This is a denial of justice. A manhunt was launched, it was a hunt for black people, even though they had arrived after suspicions of injections. The two victims were clearly attacked because of their skin color.Samuel Thomas, president of the National Federation of Maisons des Potes, an association fighting discrimination, told AFP. One of the victims and the Maison des Potes appealed.