Latest news with #JulietteJabkhiro
The Star
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Two dead and 500 arrested in France during PSG win celebrations
Soccer Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain fans gather in Paris - Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Paris St Germain fans wave a flag out of a car window after winning the Champions League REUTERS/Tom Nicholson PARIS (Reuters) -More than 500 hundred people were arrested by police during the Champions League final celebrations in France, and two people were reported dead and 192 injured, the interior ministry said on Sunday. Wild celebrations erupted across the French capital and beyond on Saturday night after Paris St Germain crushed Italian opponents Inter Milan to win the Champions League for the first time, although skirmishes with police later threatened to spoil the party. The interior ministry's provisional assessment as of Sunday morning was that 559 people had been arrested, including 491 in Paris, which led to 320 people being placed in police custody, 254 of them in Paris. On the Champs Elysees, bus shelters were smashed and projectiles hurled at riot police, who fired tear gas and water cannon to push back surging crowds as thousands of supporters descended on the boutique-lined boulevard. The interior ministry on Sunday reported hundreds of fires, including more than 200 vehicles burned. Some 22 members of the security forces and seven firefighters were harmed. (Reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
French court convicts retired surgeon of raping patients, gives him 20 years in jail
By Juliette Jabkhiro VANNES, France (Reuters) -A French court on Wednesday found a retired surgeon guilty of sexually abusing hundreds of patients, many of them children, in a trial that has shaken France. Joel Le Scouarnec's abuse of his patients is considered France's worst case of pedocriminality to go to trial. He stood accused of aggravated rape or sexual assault against 299 victims. Le Scouarnec had told the court he committed "despicable acts" over a 25-year period whilst he worked as doctor in western France, in a trial that has raised uncomfortable questions for the publicly run healthcare system. Le Scouarnec, 74, was sentenced to 20 years in jail. Presiding Judge Aude Buresi, whose voice at times appeared to choke with emotion, said Le Scouarnec had preyed on victims when they were at their most vulnerable, including whilst under anaesthesia. "Your acts were a blind spot in the medical world, to the extent that your colleagues, the medical authorities, were incapable of stopping your actions," the judge told Le Scouarnec. The court ordered Le Scouarnec be placed on the sex offenders register. The judge also barred Le Scouarnec from practicing medicine or having contact with minors. During the trial, Le Scouarnec told the court that he was aware that the harm he had caused was irreparable. "I owe it to all these people and their loved ones to admit my actions and their consequences, which they've endured and will keep having to endure all their lives," he added. The judge said she understood many victims hoped Le Scouarnec would never walk out of jail, but that the law did not allow her to impose a life sentence. The trial took place at a time of reckoning around sex crimes in France after the conviction of Dominique Pelicot, who was found guilty in December of drugging his wife unconscious and inviting dozens of men to their home to rape her. DECADES OF ABUSE Le Scouarnec is already serving jail time for earlier rape convictions. In 2020, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of a child neighbour, as well as his two nieces and a 4-year-old patient. Victims and their families have publicly asked why local and national health authorities failed to stop Le Scouarnec. In 2005, he was convicted of downloading images of child sexual abuse and received a suspended jail sentence, but managed to continue working in public hospitals. Several dozen victims and rights campaigners gathered outside the courthouse ahead of the verdict, holding a banner made of hundreds of pieces of white paper with black silhouettes, one for each victim. Some of the papers bore a first name and age, while others referred to the victim as "Anonymous." The extent of Le Scouarnec's abuse was revealed after his re-arrest in 2017 on suspicion of raping his 6-year-old neighbour. Police discovered electronic diaries that appeared to detail more than two decades of rapes and sexual assaults on young patients in hospitals across the region, as well as a cache of sex dolls, wigs and child pornography. The trial took place in Vannes, a small town in Brittany. The local prosecutor, whose office led the investigation into Le Scouarnec, has opened a separate investigation to ascertain if there was any criminal liability by agencies or individuals who could have prevented the abuse.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Paris court convicts thieves who robbed Kim Kardashian in jewel heist
By Juliette Jabkhiro PARIS (Reuters) -A French court on Friday convicted the jewel thieves who in 2016 tied up U.S. reality TV star Kim Kardashian at gun point before making off with her $4 million engagement ring and other booty. Ten people were in the dock, accused of involvement in the Paris heist. Robbers wearing ski masks and disguised as police tied up the billionaire celebrity before making off with the ring, given to her by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), and other jewels. Kardashian travelled to Paris to testify earlier this month, telling the court she had thought she was going to die. The mixed panel of judges and jury convicted eight of the 10 for crimes directly linked to the theft, while another defendant was found guilty of illegal weapons charges. One person was acquitted. The heaviest sentences were handed down to five defendants who participated directly in the heist, with the mastermind of the robbery, 69-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, getting a three-year jail sentence. Kardashian's lawyers said that she accepted the court's ruling. "I am deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case. The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family," she said in a statement. "While I'll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all." During her court appearance, she said she forgave Khedache, who had asked for forgiveness in a letter. The thieves were dubbed the "grandpa robbers" by the press as many were of or near retirement age. At the time, the robbery was considered the biggest in France for more than 20 years. (Repoting by Juliette Jabkhiro; Writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Government-commissioned report says Muslim Brotherhood posing threat to French unity
By Juliette Jabkhiro PARIS (Reuters) -President Emmanuel Macron convened senior ministers on Wednesday to address a state-commissioned report that accuses the Muslim Brotherhood of waging a covert campaign via local proxies to subvert France's secular values and institutions. The report called for action to halt what it called a slow-burning spread of "political Islam" posing a threat to social cohesion, drawing swift criticism from members of the Muslim community and some academics. Under mounting pressure from a rising far-right opposition, Macron has undertaken a crackdown on what he calls Islamist separatism by seeking to limit foreign influence over Muslim institutions and communities. Now, presidential advisers say Macron wants to tackle what they frame as a long-term Islamist plan to infiltrate state institutions and change them from within. "The reality of this threat, even if it is long-term and does not involve violent action, highlights the risk of damage to the fabric of society and republican institutions," said an excerpt of the report, a copy of which Reuters obtained. The government has said it will not publish the report in full. Macron ordered ministers to draw up measures in response to the report for another government meeting in June. The report said the Islamist campaign was focusing on schools, mosques and local non-governmental organisations, with the aim of influencing rule-making at local and national levels, notably concerning secularism and gender equality. The report describes the Musulmans de France (Muslims of France) association as the "national branch" of the Muslim Brotherhood, a global Islamist organisation that was founded in Egypt in 1928 as part of a movement to end colonial rule. The Brotherhood's stated goal is to establish sharia (Islamic law) through peaceful political means. It is banned in several Arab countries including Egypt. DENIAL OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LINK Musulmans de France denies belonging to the Brotherhood, according to the report. Its leader was not immediately available for comment. Azzedine Gaci, head of the Villeurbanne mosque near Lyon that is cited in the report, denied ties with the Brotherhood and said the report was a "slap in the face" after he has worked in close collaboration with French authorities for years. Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, hardline Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the report underlined a clear threat from the Muslim Brotherhood. "Its ultimate goal is to shift all of French society to sharia," he said. France's Muslim population numbers over 6 million, the largest in Europe. The report's conclusions stated that no recent evidence indicated Musulmans de France wished to establish an Islamic state in France or enforce sharia. Haoues Seniguer, a researcher specialising in political Islam, said that while Musulmans de France held a conservative vision of Islam, it had no ambition to transform French society into an Islamic one. "In the public debate and politicians' words, there is a tendency to act as if the distant heirs of the Muslim Brotherhood today had the exact same views as the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928. (This) makes absolutely no sense." Macron denies stigmatising Muslims and says Islam has a place in French society. However, civic rights and Muslim groups say the government is increasingly impinging on religious freedom, making it harder for Muslims to express their identity. They cite a crackdown on several Muslim schools as an example. "Our teachings have always been respectful of republican values," Makhlouf Mameche, head of the National Federation for Muslim Education, told Reuters. "Our goal is to make sure our pupils succeed."
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
French movie star Depardieu faces judgment day in sexual assault trial
By Juliette Jabkhiro PARIS (Reuters) - A court in Paris is due to hand down its verdict in the sexual assault trial of French actor Gerard Depardieu on Tuesday, in one of the highest-profile #MeToo cases to come before judges in France. Depardieu is accused of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021. A towering figure of French cinema, Depardieu repeatedly denied any wrongdoing during the trial and his lawyer pleaded for charges against him to be dismissed. The public prosecutor has asked the court to hand 76-year-old Depardieu a suspended 18-month prison sentence and a 20,000 euro fine ($22,250). The #MeToo protest movement over sexual violence has struggled to gain the same traction in France as in the United States, though there are signs that social attitudes towards sexual assault may be changing. One of the two plaintiffs, Amelie K, a set decorator, told the court the actor had groped her all over her body as he trapped her between his legs and made explicit sexual comments. "He touched everything, including my breasts," she told the court. "I was terrified, he was laughing." The second plaintiff said she was groped by Depardieu on set and in the street. The alleged assaults occurred during the filming of "Les Volets Verts" (The Green Shutters) in 2021, while Depardieu was under formal investigation over accusations of raping a young actress in 2018. Prosecutors have requested that case go to trial too. Depardieu told the court that he did not consider placing a hand on a person's buttocks sexual assault and that some women were too easily shocked. He denied assault. Depardieu has faced a growing number of sexual assault allegations in recent years, which has put a spotlight on how women are treated in the movie industry. His trial has laid bare a generational divide in France over sexism, with some prominent older actresses defending him. Brigitte Bardot, 90, told broadcaster BFM TV on Monday that "those who have talent and grope a girl get thrown into the gutter". ($1 = 0.8988 euros)
