What we know about the death of Jérémy Cohen, hit by a tram in Bobigny after an assault

0

The scene lasts less than a minute. On February 16, around 8 p.m., a 31-year-old man, Jérémy Cohen, was beaten by a group of about fifteen people in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis). Then he tries to escape his attackers, crosses the railway and is hit by tram 1. He dies shortly after midnight in hospital. The facts were filmed and the video is widely shared on social networks, Monday, April 4. Since then, presidential candidates have questioned the anti-Semitic nature of the violence. But to date, “it does not appear from the testimonies (…) that the attack was committed for discriminatory reasons”, declared, Tuesday afternoon, the prosecutor of Bobigny. Franceinfo summarizes what we know about this case.

The investigation entrusted to an investigating judge

A first investigation is opened at the Bobigny police station for “manslaughter by driver”, in order to determine the circumstances of the death. “At the end of these investigations, the tram driver did not appear to have committed any fault of imprudence, negligence or clumsiness., declared, Tuesday, during a press conference, the prosecutor of Bobigny, Eric Mathais. This first investigation is therefore closed on February 22, but the investigations are continuing.

Filmed by a witness, a video of Jérémy Cohen’s accident and the attack that preceded it was added to the file on March 10. A second investigation was then opened, followed, on March 29, by a judicial investigation for “intentional violence in a meeting that resulted in death without intention to give it”. Entrusted to the judicial police of the department, the investigation continues under the authority of an examining magistrate. “VSThis truth we owe to the victim and his family”, assured Eric Mathais, who called on other witnesses to come forward to the police.

The attack, filmed, became a viral video

For their part, the parents of Jérémy Cohen deplore the reaction of the police when they filed a complaint. “At first, it is certain that the police did not take this matter seriously enough”, estimates on franceinfo their lawyer, Franck Serfati. Two brothers of Jérémy Cohen then launch an appeal for witnesses and obtain the video of the facts. On March 14, they send it to the investigators, who have just got their hands on it. Highly relayed Monday morning by supporters of far-right candidate Eric Zemmour, it went viral.

On the images (which franceinfo has decided not to broadcast because of their violence), we see a group of people in front of the entrance to a building, avenue Jean-Jaurès in Bobigny. The images, shot at night with a mobile phone, are blurry. Car horns sound. Suddenly blows rain down on a man. First on the ground, he gets up, runs, crosses the avenue and arrives on the railway tracks. The tram appears and hits it head-on, then rolls a few meters before braking. The tram driver estimated at “three seconds the time elapsed between the sight of the pedestrian and the collision”said the Bobigny prosecutor.

A man “passionate about computers”

Why did this group of people attack Jérémy Cohen? This is one of the main questions, unanswered at this stage of the investigation. According to his father, he was not in conflict with anyone. “My son was a brilliant person. He had an S baccalaureate. He had done three years of applied mathematics and computer science at Jussieu. Afterwards, he was a little depressed, tired. He took treatment, which necessary, and afterwards, he was happy to live”describes Gérald Cohen on Monday evening, in “Touche pas à mon poste”, on C8. “Someone very sensitive”he completes shortly after on BFMTV.

“He is someone who has studied but who is slow”Gérald Cohen had previously declared on Radio Shalom, revealing that his son was “disabled”. “Out of respect for his memory, I will not develop further. He was recognized as disabled, but it was not something that appeared when we saw him”explains Raphaël Cohen, one of Jérémy’s brothers, guest of this Parisian Jewish radio alongside his father.

Many political reactions

Since the video went viral, the case has taken a political turn. Originally, it was Gérald Cohen who contacted Eric Zemmour. “I actually asked Eric Zemmour if he could help us with the investigation (…) so that the investigation is not locked up, stifled”he explains on Monday on BFMTV. Gerald Cohen was received the next day at the campaign headquarters of Eric Zemmour, learned franceinfo from the entourage of the representative of the Reconquest party! Jérémy Cohen’s father wanted to thank Eric Zemmour “for having shed media light on the tragedy” and for talking about his son.

The far-right candidate reacted publicly in a series of tweets. “Did he die to run away from scum? Did he die because he was Jewish? Why is this case covered up?” It was followed by several competitors. “All light must be shed on the circumstances of Jérémy Cohen’s death, his attack before he was hit by a tram in Bobigny”wrote, on Twitter, the environmental candidate Yannick Jadot. “What was presented as an accident could be an anti-Semitic murdertweets Marine Le Pen. How to explain the silence on this affair and its motivations? On France Inter, Tuesday morning, the candidate of the National Rally “raises the question of a parliamentary inquiry”.

At the same time, the Elysée services called, at the request of Emmanuel Macron, the parents of Jérémy Cohen. The Elysée specifies to franceinfo that this call was aimed at “send them a message of compassion and let them know that (…) all means of investigation will be implemented to identify the perpetrators of this attack”. “I hope that we can support this family, which has experienced something absolutely awful, so that the answers to the questions they are asking are brought to them, that transparency is made“said Tuesday the President of the Republic, candidate for his re-election, during a trip to Finistère.

“No certainty” about the anti-Semitic nature of the attack

These political reactions raise questions about the anti-Semitic nature of Jérémy Cohen’s attack. “We have no established certainty, on the other hand, it is not a question of fabrication”, affirms the lawyer of the family of the thirty-something. “If the judicial inquiry could establish that the anti-Semitic character is characterized, we would not be outrageously surprised”, adds Franck Serfati. His client said on BFMTV that his son was wearing “probably” a yarmulke on his head. “We are traditional people, so we educated our children to put on a yarmulke because it’s part of our culture. Jérémy, he had another point of view, he put it on because he liked it. He would have put it on. like he would have put on a cap or something”says Gérald Cohen.

But the prosecutor of Bobigny affirms that the investigation did not prove it. “No element established to date makes it possible to affirm with certainty that the victim was carrying, in an apparent way or not, a yarmulke at the time of the scene of violence”said Eric Mathais. “Of course, any element making it possible to establish a discriminatory reason for this scene of violence, in particular anti-Semitic, will give rise to an aggravation of the criminal qualification retained”, he pointed out.


source site-33