Four defendants were tried today at the Niort Criminal Court for their participation in a group formed to prepare violence against people or damage to property. They had been arrested during the great demonstration in Sainte-Soline (79), in the construction site of the mega water reserve.
The four men arrested on October 29 during the anti-basin demonstration in Sainte-Soline are again in the defendants’ box. On October 31, they had asked for their case to be postponed during theimmediate hearingwhich was held at the Criminal Court of Niort.
Pending trial on the merits, the four men were barred from returning to Deux Sèvres and were let free under judicial supervision.
This Monday, November 28, at 1.45 pm, the hearing begins. The protesters’ lawyer, Mr.And Alexis Baudelin, requests a postponement of this process, which was rejected by the court after a short deliberation. The defendants and their lawyer then leave the room.
We refuse to participate in this process, which is a farce. There was no urgency to hold this hearing today.
Me Alexis Baudelin, lawyer for the defendants
Outside, almost 300 people are waiting for them to support them.
Inside, the process continues even in the absence of the protagonists. Julien Wattebbled, public prosecutor of Niort, broadcasts photos showing the extreme tension between protesters and the police, Saturday October 29 in Sainte-Soline. He concludes his requisitions by asking for four months’ imprisonment with suspended sentence and a five-year ban from appearing at Deux Sèvres.
Light requests
The penalties requested are light, measured, because by admission of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the protagonists present in the box are far from being the main perpetrators of the violence observed that day.
This is a warning.
Julien Wattebled, public prosecutor of Niort
After deliberation, the Niort court sentenced three of the defendants to two months of suspended confinement with a ban on traveling to Deux-Sèvres for three years. Another receives a three-month suspended prison sentence, with the same ban. The fifth defendant, injured, who was never present at the two hearings, is also sentenced to three months’ imprisonment with suspended sentence.
mAnd Alexis Baudelin, absent at the time of the trial, had already warned that he would appeal the sentence, also having time to prepare the arguments.
We want to tell the reason for these basins and this struggle
Me Alexis Baudelin, lawyer for the defendants
Pending the appeal hearing, the defendants remain free and presumed innocent.
