Rouens. Sentenced for refusing the PCR test before being deported to the border
By Writing Normandy
Published on
A 26-year-old man from Ivory Coast was convicted by the Criminal Court of Rouen (Seine Maritime)Thursday, November 17, 2022. On several occasions indeed, he refused the test Mandatory PCR before deportation.
Three days before departure, he refuses the PCR test
Last June 2022, while the defendant is serving a prison sentence in the remand center of Rouen (Seine Maritime), the services of the prefecture notify him of an Obligation to leave French territory (OQTF). A consular laissez-passer had been issued by the Ivorian authorities with a return flight scheduled for September 20.
Upon his release, the defendant was therefore placed in administrative detention at the Oissel Center. But before flying, the person concerned must submit to a PCR test. Three days before leaving for Côte d’Ivoire, the border police services submit the test to him but detain him and refuse to prevent the execution of the deportation decision for the first time.
Then a second refusal
The judge of the freedoms of detention and the extension a first time then a second time the administrative detention of the person concerned each time confirmed on appeal. A second test was then organized by the authorities on October 24. He accepts at first before finally refusing it a few hours later, once again preventing his deportation to the border. The judge of freedoms and detention is again seized for a third extension but this time, he rejects the request because the Ivorian authorities have not issued a consular pass. After 60 days of detention, the man was released but immediately placed in police custody to avoid the execution of his removal measure twice.
“I am traumatized by this retention”
The man then explains that he applied for a residence permit in 2018 but did not receive any response from the prefectural authorities and did not understand the PCR test request of September 17. Concerning the second refusal, he admits having given his agreement before refusing, explaining that he was no longer himself: “I shot myself to support the conditions of detention, we are all mixed up, I am traumatized by this detention, I have been separated from my family and my children, who are in France, for 17 months”.
Presented in immediate comparison, the defendant accepted to be judged. His counsel requests the nullity of the procedure, considering “that according to current case law on the law of foreigners, the prosecution could not initiate proceedings before the maximum detention period is reached (90 days).”
My client was sued after the 60th day, so I ask you to cancel the procedure and subsequent acts,
For its part, the Ministry of Public Detention requests the rejection of its request “considering that the judge of freedoms and the request for an end to the detention of the person concerned authorizes criminal proceedings against his client” before requesting a sentence of 6 months of imprisonment with warrant of committal. The defendant, for his part, indicates “not wanting to go to prison, no longer having the mental strength to bear it, preferring to return to Côte d’Ivoire”.
The court declared that the defendant was partially acquitted of the charges but sentenced him for the remainder to a 2-month prison sentence which he proceeded in the form of house arrest under electronic surveillance at his mother’s home.*
* This sentence is subject to appeal. Everyone is presumed innocent until all legal remedies have been exhausted.
From our correspondent Frédéric Bernard
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