Blaming the zonal director of public security and summoning seven police officers to a disciplinary council is a “strong signal”, reacted on franceinfo on Wednesday master Julien Plouton, lawyer for the family of Chahinez Daoud, killed by her husband in May in Mérignac (Gironde). The Director General of the National Police (DGPN) has indeed taken severe decisions against the police officers involved in the dysfunctions of the case. “It’s a way of recognizing that (…) the entire hierarchical chain has failed”, he said, while the victim had filed a complaint against her husband a month before being burned alive by him in the street.
A report from the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) had pointed out the shortcomings in the treatment of the case of Chahinez, whose husband had already been convicted of domestic violence. One of them concerned the peacekeeper who had taken in the victim’s complaint because he himself had been convicted of this type of violence two months earlier.
franceinfo: The Director General of the National Police was more severe than the recommendations of the IGPN. Was this the right decision to make?
Julien Plouton: This is a strong signal sent to all of our fellow citizens. They were all touched and flabbergasted by this case. They share with Chahinez’s family this misunderstanding about the shortcomings highlighted by the General Inspectorate of Justice and Administration as part of the investigation. It is important to note that the Director General of the National Police did not content himself with summoning those who are at the bottom of the judicial hierarchy. Senior officers are also summoned before this disciplinary council. It’s nice because it’s a way of recognizing that in this affair, there were dysfunctions, and that it is in reality the whole hierarchical chain that was faulty.
Is this also a way for the police to say that they are aware of their role in the prevention of femicides as a whole?
This is how we perceive this message and I hope this is how it will be received. The family has no resentment or desire for revenge, far from it. On the other hand, through this survey, we wish to contribute to this public debate, so that such acts can no longer occur or that everything that can be done to prevent them is effectively done and carried out. One of the first steps to be taken is to raise public awareness, as well as police officers, who are called upon to deal with this type of case on a daily basis. This would make it impossible to say that because of the lack of resources, the heaviness of the task incumbent on police officers – of which we are aware – we cannot manage these files. This should not be an excuse. In this type of case, there is an absolute imperative: total reactivity when new facts are reported to a police service, since it is the one and only way to prevent the act of the most violent individuals. or the most extreme.
Chahinez was killed five months ago. Where do her three children live now?
They are now placed with foster families. The priority of Chahinez’s parents, of their grandparents, is to lead the fight to get their daughter’s children back. It’s a bit long and exhausting fight. They are once again confronted with a certain form of inertia of justice, which is a machine with long cogs, which is sometimes difficult to live with. This creates misunderstandings. These children are in a precarious situation. They are now informed of the presence of their grandparents on the national territory, to recover them and take care of them in France. They do, however, have fairly limited visitation rights, although we were able to obtain from the juvenile judge fairly recently that it be extended. They can now spend a full weekend’s time with them. It was the first step and it is our first victory. We will have a hearing by the end of November, at the end of which we hope to be able to obtain their placement in the grandparents’ home. This is their absolute priority, beyond judicial information and the long-term fight concerning the recognition of the guilt of the perpetrator.