Rabat – The mother of Nahel, a 17-year-old Algerian teenager brutally killed by a French police officer in Nantere this summer, has called for a protest this Sunday to denounce the release of the police shooter.
On Wednesday, France 24 reported that the officer who shot Nahel during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb was released from custody.
The killing of the teenager sparked a wave of protests back during the summer, with riots and demonstrations against authorities’ failure to hold the police officer responsible for the crime.
Florian, the officer in question, was charged with murder and taken into custody following the attack. Months after the murder of Nahel, French authorities have decided to release the police officer from custody.
“While he is no longer in jail ahead of trial, he is under judicial supervision which means restrictions are still placed on his movements,” France 24 reported.
Condemning his release, Nahel’s mother took to social networks to launch an appeal against France’s judicial decision to free the man who killed her son.
“My only son was killed by a police officer. Do they have the right to kill a child for not obeying? For four and a half months, he was in pre-trial detention. After four requests for release, he is finally set free. A real injustice,” the mother said in a video sent to Le Media.
Denouncing racism and discrimination, the desperate mother added: “A police officer kills an Arab or Black child, becomes a millionaire, and walks out of prison (..) I will never see my son again.”
A video that surfaced during the summer documented the brutal killing of Nahel in his car.
The video shows one of the officers leaning against the windshield while pointing a gun at the driver and firing at point blank range as Nahel starts to move again. The footage contradicted the police officer’s version of events, prompting accusations of police brutality and human rights abuses.
Following the murder, protesters flocked French streets en masse, denouncing the discrimination and racism migrants face in the European country.
France met the protests with armored vehicles, riot police, and the detention of hundreds of demonstrators.
