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French police officers acquitted of 2005 teen deaths

The two officers were accused of failing to help two boys who fled from them into a power substation near Paris in 2005, sparking weeks of riots.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

A court in France has acquitted two police officers accused of failing to help two boys, whose deaths at a power substation led to weeks of riots, reports BBC News.

Bouna Traore, 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, were electrocuted in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois in October 2005.

Police had chased the boys as they made their way home from a football match.

Almost 10 years later, the court in Rennes cleared Sebastien Gaillemin and Stephanie Klein of charges of failing to assist someone in danger.

Adel Benna, Zyed's brother, said he was sickened by Monday's ruling.

"Police officers are untouchable. It's not just in this case, they are never convicted," he told reporters.

The officers had been accused of doing nothing to help, despite knowing the boys were in danger when they were seen approaching the EDF power facility. They insisted they were not to blame.

Bouna and Zyed were electrocuted while a third youth, Muhittin Altun, escaped with burns.

The deaths ignited three weeks of clashes with security forces in run-down city suburbs across France.

Vehicles and public buildings were burned and thousands of people arrested in rioting that led to the first state of emergency in the country for more than 20 years.

For years the case dragged through the courts, until in 2012 France's highest court overturned a ruling that dropped a "failure to help" charge against the officers.

But Monday's closely-watched decision, which comes after a five-day trial in March, is final and cannot be appealed.

The trial focused on a phrase that Mr Gaillemin, 41, radioed to colleagues, saying: "If they enter the site there's not much hope they'll make it alive."

The call was received by Ms Klein, a police intern at the time, who was accused of not reacting.

But president judge Nicolas Leger ruled that neither officer had a "clear awareness of an imminent and serious danger", which would be required under French law for a conviction.

The officers' lawyer, Daniel Merchat, said his clients were "relieved".

"For nine years, my clients have been completely convinced that they committed neither a mistake, nor a crime. This nine-year case has left them suffering... for them this is now a page that has turned," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

Read more of this report from BBC News.