Family's 'relief' as riot officer charged over death of 80-year-old in Marseille
Six years after 80-year-old Zineb Redouane was fatally injured by a tear gas grenade fired during a protest in Marseille, it has emerged that a riot police officer has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The charge was filed by a judge in Lyon on 12 September but was only made public this week following a report in French daily Le Monde.
The officer is accused of launching the grenade that struck Redouane, who is from Algeria, as she stood at her fourth-floor window on 1 December 2018.
Yassine Bouzrou, the lawyer for Redouane’s children, has said that while the family feels relief at the development, they are also "angry and perplexed" by the wait for justice they have endured.
"The courts knew from the outset that they had to charge this police officer, but lacked the courage to confront the pressure surrounding the case," Bouzrou said.
French policemen in tear gas canister case will not face disciplinary council
Collusion fears
The case was reassigned to the Lyon district in 2019 amid concerns of possible collusion between the Marseille prosecutor's office and the police officers involved.
On 1 December, 2018, Redouane was standing at her fourth-floor window, when she was struck in the face by shrapnel from a tear gas grenade fired by law enforcement trying to disperse demonstrators below.
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