Obtain justice and those responsible be judged to finally fully mourn. Six years after the death of his son, Ismaïl, Shahra-Zad continues to fight for the truth.
On June 8, 2018, she went to a shopping center in Argenteuil with her two children, her sister and her nephews. The two sisters then decide to take the elevator to reach the shops located on the top floor. While his sister, his nephews and his eldest have already left the elevator, Ismaïl, 4 years old, follows them, but the elevator suddenly falls.
The ground then gives way under the feet of the young boy who finds himself stuck between the roof and the elevator car. His mother, who was following him, remained stuck in the device, unable to help her son.
“I realized what was happening when I heard screams up there. I saw that my son was stuck between the top of the cabin and the top floor of the mall. He didn’t move anymore. There was no more movement on his part.”
Meanwhile, while several young people try to climb the outside of the cabin, the firefighters arrive. They take her down a ladder then take her to a separate room to tell her that her child is dead.
“The impression of experiencing another drama”
A terrible shock for Shahra-Zad and her husband, to which are added the legal procedures, which are too slow. “When the tragedy occurred, the prosecutor immediately opened an investigation. He requested that assessments be carried out. There have been many failings on the part of several companies. On the one hand the manufacturer ThyssenKrup, which had called on a subcontractor, Bagneux Hydraulique, to repair the elevator in 2015, because there had already been the same problem. explains the mother. Before adding “On the other hand, there were different companies which were responsible for maintaining the elevator, Otis and Schindler. Finally there was also the company Bureau Veritas, which, according to experts, did not carry out checks on the elevator correctly. Normally, he should not have fallen more than 40 cm, except that here, he fell more than two meters.”
If the expert opinions are quickly ordered by the prosecutor, legal progress is much slower. An ordeal for Shahra-Zad and her husband who are trying to mourn their loss. “For more than two and a half years, there were no indictments. And there is still no trial. We were completely abandoned. We have the impression of experiencing another tragedy because we have not been taken into consideration for six years.”
A bill to prevent new accidents
To advance her fight, the mother launched a petition to demand justice. But it doesn’t stop there. In June 2023, to support the victims and families of victims of these accidents, Chahra-Zad created the ADVA association (Association for the Defense of Elevator Victims) in June 2023.
For the past year, she has also been working with MP (LFI) Paul Vannier on a bill. “The first objective is to protect all victims of elevator accidents, and the second objective is to make elevator owners responsible.” Then to specify: “In France, the elevator fleet is aging. Everyone must be able to contact their MP so that this law can be passed, in order to protect as many people as possible. You shouldn’t die taking an elevator. We’re supposed to be protected. »
