The family of the teenager shot dead by a police officer in the Paris suburb of Nanterre has filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office against the man behind a fundraising initiative to help the officer's family, French radio RMC reported
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th July, 2023) The family of the teenager shot dead by a police officer in the Paris suburb of Nanterre has filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office against the man behind a fundraising initiative to help the officer's family, French radio RMC reported.
Nahel's family is accusing far-right publicist Jean Messiha, the campaign's author, of fraud, illegal use of police data and concealing a crime, the radio said. Each charge carries a sentence of five years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros ($326,000).
The attorney for the deceased teen's family said that Messiha illegally used information about the teen's past offenses to make him look like a criminal and a repeat offender, as well as to organize a movement in support of the police officer who killed him.
"Jean Messiha claimed that the funds would go to the police officer's family, but there is no certainty that the beneficiary would actually be someone close to him," the attorney told RMC.
The fundraising campaign ended overnight into Wednesday. According to the Gofundme website, more than 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) was raised to help the Nanterre officer's family, with more than 80,000 people making donations. A similar initiative launched on the Leetchi fundraising portal to support Nahel's mother has raised just over 415,000 euros as of Wednesday morning, with about 21,000 contributors.
On June 27, 17-year-old Nahel M. was shot dead by a police officer in the Paris suburb of Nanterre after he� allegedly refused to comply with police orders during a traffic stop. The officer who pulled the trigger on the teenager was charged with voluntary manslaughter and is in custody. The fatal police shooting sparked mass protests across the country. According to the latest figures from the French Interior Ministry, some 3,800 cars have been set on fire by youths across the country since the riots began. In addition, police and government buildings and about 100 town halls have been attacked. The country's economy ministry said more than 1,000 retail stores, some 370 bank branches and about 10 shopping malls have been looted.
Nahel's family attorney told French television show "C a Vous" that the teenager had no criminal record. However, The New York Times reported, citing the Nanterre prosecutor, that the teenager was known to police for disobeying traffic stops and had been summoned to a juvenile court in September 2022 over such incident.
