Brother of France man who died in police custody injured in arrest

PARIS — A man arrested in Paris during a memorial rally for his brother, who had died in police custody seven years ago, has been released from hospital on Sunday, amid calls for more protests.

The calls came with France still on edge after the police killing of a teen near Paris sparked the worst rioting in the country since 2005.

Youssouf Traore, 29, was detained by police on Saturday amid protests across the country that commemorated the death of his brother Adama Traore in 2016, many of them in defiance of police bans on gatherings.

According to a police source, Youssouf Traore was injured in the eye during his arrest at the Paris protest attended by some 2,000 people, and was taken to hospital after becoming sick at the police station.

Youssouf Traore appeared with a swollen right eye and torn T-shirt sleeve in a video posted on Twitter on Sunday, which has been verified by AFP, by the account "Truth for Adama".

According to the account, he suffered a fractured nose, head trauma with a black eye, and contusions to his chest, abdomen and lumbar.

The account's managers said a complaint will be lodged "to denounce this serious violence".

Youssouf Traore was arrested on charges of violence against a public official, having been accused of hitting a police officer at the start of the rally at Place de la Republique, according to a source close to the case.

The charges had been lifted due to his hospitalisation, the Paris prosecutor's office said, but could be reinstated later.

Pent-up frustrations 

The forceful arrest, filmed by several witnesses, showed him resisting and being tackled and held face down by several police officers, provoking condemnation by several left-wing politicians on social media.

A joint statement by left-leaning associations, unions and political parties had called for a rally Sunday afternoon in front of a central Paris police station to demand that he and another person detained with him be released.

At least 20 people including two lawmakers were seen by AFP journalists outside the station, which was protected by eight officers, around 2 pm (12:00 GMT).

France has been on edge since a police officer shot dead Nahel M., a 17-year-old with Algerian roots, during a traffic stop on June 27 in a Paris suburb.

The shooting rekindled long pent-up frustrations and accusations of systemic racism among France’s security forces and sparked nights of rioting, the worst urban unrest in the country since 2005.

More than 3,700 people were taken into police custody in connection with the protests since Nahel’s death, including at least 1,160 minors, according to official figures.