Feb
Two police officers from one of France’s elite units have been sent to jail for seven years for the gang-rape of a Canadian tourist. The officers took Emily Spanton back to their headquarters at 36 Quai des Orfèvres after an alcohol-fuelled evening at an Irish bar in April 2014. Once in their fifth floor office, […]
Jan
French interior minister on Tuesday objected to the call by a rights defender for prohibiting the use of tear gas on protesters. Speaking on France’s BFM TV channel, Christophe Castaner argued that police need to use gas canisters in order to protect themselves. He said that more people will be injured when police does not use tear gas. […]
Jan
An undercover St. Louis police officer reported that his colleagues beat him “like Rodney King” when they mistook him for a protester following the acquittal of a white former officer in the fatal shooting of a black man, according to newly released court documents. Det. Luther Hall, who is black, also described the attack as […]
Jan
The French interior minister admitted on Tuesday that four Yellow Vest protesters had suffered heavy eye injuries due to police intervention. Christophe Castaner told the senate that some of them may lose sight in one eye. The minister reiterated that 81 investigations had been opened by the IGPN, the country’s police oversight body. The Yellow […]
Jan
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner proposed on Friday to allow police to use tear gas to ensure public order in the wake of Yellow Vest protests which have rocked the country since November. In a statement, he argued that more people will be injured when police does not use tear gas. Jacques Toubon, public rights […]
Jan
Primary school teachers clashed with riot police in Athens on Monday for the second time in under a week, during a protest against government plans to change public sector hirings. The violence broke out when protesting teachers, who are on a 24-hour strike, tried to break a police cordon next to parliament. Some demonstrators hurled […]
Jan
Police in the Swiss city of Schaffhausen have defended their decision to fine a man who used the words “Allahu akbar” in public. The incident in May 2018, which saw the man fined 150 Swiss francs (€132) plus 60 francs in administrative charges, came to light this week after the 22-year-old involved went public with […]
Jan
Two Minneapolis police officers who fatally shot a suicidal man last November will not face criminal charges. The Hennepin County Attorney’s office announced Thursday afternoon that Officer Ryan Keyes and Neal Walsh were “justified in using deadly force” in the fatal shooting of Travis Jordan, 36. Jordan’s girlfriend called 911 on the afternoon of Nov. […]
Dec
The French Interior Ministry has published a call for bids for the purchase of 1,280 additional Flash-ball type non-lethal weapons amid human rights activists’ concern that the use of such kind of guns during mass protests poses a serious threat to people’s health, the Liberation newspaper reported. The news outlet reported on Wednesday that human rights […]
Dec
French authorities on Sunday defended aggressive police actions to contain violence at yellow vest protests after a policeman was seen briefly brandishing a gun at a surging crowd in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron called for “the most severe” legal repercussions against violent protesters. After a sixth straight weekend of demonstrations by the grassroots movement […]
