The comrade Damien Camélio, who was just released from Fleury-Mérogis prison on June 29, was subjected to detention and a serious beating by police officers Grenot, Remond, Cuzon and Lercorvaisier at Saint-Malo from the night of Saturday, July 29, 2017 to Sunday, July 30, 2017.
After 36 hours in police custody the comrade was released with serious injuries and an order to attend court in Saint-Malo to be judged for contempt and resisting on 13.03.2018 at 13h30.
Statement of the comrade:
I got out of Fleury a month ago and had still not had the opportunity to celebrate my release with my partner. Last Saturday we went to the cinema, then after dropping the kid at his grandmother’s house we went out for a drink at the L intra-Muros (Translation note: L intra-Muros is a restaurant in Saint-Malo).
As Saint-Malo is a small town you can count the places to go out on the fingers of one hand. Due to lack of choice, we went to dance to a rotten jukebox with shit music. But we didn’t care, we just wanted to be a bit cheerful after months of being separated (years even, if you count my previous 2 sentences).
For once we could spend an evening like an everyday madame and monsieur without having to hide or falsify our identities.
Well, that’s what we thought.
At the end of the evening while we were waiting for a taxi home my partner began to feel very unwell. We had not eaten, had only drunk alcohol and had been dancing for hours in a hot room. My partner collapsed.
Even if I did not show it, I was really distraught. I decided to do something I would not normally do and not fend for myself and steal a car but to call an ambulance like everyone else. I was aware that this could possibly alert the police services who would then have my identity.
It was a big mistake.
The cops arrived with the ambulance, they took our identities, and then the ambulance transported my partner and myself to the hospital.
When we arrived at the hospital my partner was still unconscious. I insisted on staying with her but was refused. I then decided to go home with the idea of returning first thing in the morning.
What I did not realize was that during this time the cops had pu our identities into the computer. So they knew who I was.
When I got outside the hospital a cop car was parked in front of me and four cops were waiting for me next to the car.
They yelled: “Hey Camélio, give us your papers so we can check them.”
I had nothing to hide so I handed them over. A cop asked me: “Are you carrying a weapon?” to which I replied that yes, of course, I always have a knife on me. He asked me to show him it. I took it out and he snatched it from my hands while the other three cops jumped on me at the same time.
I was thrown onto the ground, my hands were cuffed behind my back and they then beat me to the point where I was having trouble breathing. I tried to struggle a bit because it was really too much and at the time I was afraid they would kill me. They strangled me so much that I lost consciousness. When I woke up the blows were still raining down on me. Even while I was unconscious they kept beating me.
They then took me to the police station and threw me in a cell. They left me in the cell without giving me any food or even a single glass of water. I was hurting all over and asked for a doctor for hours. After 20 hours in this state they finally agreed to let me see a doctor after I threatened to contact my lawyer in Paris.
The doctor arrived and was upset at the state I was in. He insisted on giving me a medical certificate detailing some of my injuries and specifying that my condition justified 3 weeks of intensive therapy as well a follow-up hospital visits. The doctor went to the OPJ (Translation note: Officier de Police Judiciaire – “officer of judicial police”) to inform him that I had this certificate and that it was not a good idea for me to remain in custody.
I was very unwell, but the worst thing was that they refused to give me any news about my partner. The last time I saw her she was unconscious.
I was panicked by the thought that maybe she had not recovered, and that the little one would be feeling lost, not understanding what had happened or why we had not come back for him.
Fortunately my partner got out of hospital the next day, she was able to get home without too much trouble. She suspected that the cops had detained me, so she went to the police station several times and called them regularly. They told her I was going to be released in the morning but I did not get out. The last time this happened she didn’t see until 8 months later.
So in short, I was just released today. They released me around noon after 2 nights of custody. The prosecutor’s office decided not to appear immediately and as a result of me threatening to notify my lawyer and the doctor’s medical certificate, the 4 cops decided to withdraw their complaint.
Nevertheless I am summoned to the appear at the criminal court of Saint-Malo on March 13 to face charges of contempt and rebellion.
Following the beating I suffered; my right hand is fractured, I am completely deaf in my right ear, I have huge bruises on my arms, back, ribs and legs as well as large bumps on my skull and cuts in my mouth. My neck is in severe pain due to the violent strangulation and I am having a lot of difficulty breathing.
I am not complaining, just documenting what happened. The only thing I regret is to have been totally unable to fight back. I have a furious desire for vengeance, but I can’t do anything, now that I have family attachments they would find me too easily.
I don’t want any judicial redress, I’m fed up with justice and I’m not a victim.
I do not claim any status of innocence, even though, and this time it is a fact, I would not be guilty of anything.
This aggression is nothing more than a new of form of weaponry used by the enemy against the comrades engaged in the social war.
At the moment my thoughts go out to Krem and Kara and to all those who remain defiant despite the tenfold forces of our authoritarian enemies.
For solidarity, for revenge and permanent conflict!
Damien
Update:
The comrade left the hospital today, 01.08.2017 at 19h. The most serious injuries are a major fracture of the right hand requiring 42 days of intensive therapy and a perforated right eardrum that has caused irreversible deafness.
