A fundraising campaign in support of the family of the policeman who killed 17-year-old Nahel, launched by the far-right figure Jean Messiha and which has raised more than €1.6 million, is being investigated by the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, reports AFP.
The investigations have been entrusted to the economic and financial affairs sub-directorate of the judicial police after a complaint was lodged by the family of Nahel, who was murdered on 27 June during a roadside police check in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), on the outskirts of Paris.
The complaint, which has been lodged on the grounds of organised gang fraud, alleges that Jean Messiha used “fraudulent manoeuvres” and "lies" to mislead donors in order to raise funds.
Anyone benefiting from the fund, "even if they were a member of the policeman’s family…. would therefore be guilty of concealing fraud in an organised gang," according to this complaint.
Still from the video which showed the French policeman murdering 17-year old Nahel.
"We welcome the speed of this decision by the public prosecutor" to open an investigation, reacted Me Yassine Bouzrou, who is defending Nahel’s family, to AFP. Jean Messiha did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests for comment.
Nahel’s death, followed by the police officer’s indictment for culpable homicide, reignited the debate in France about police violence. The assassination shocked a large part of the population and caused several nights of violence in many French towns.
The police officer, who has been remanded in custody, has also benefited from a fundraising campaign on the Gofundme platform.
Jean Messiha justified his initiative by wanting to support “the family of the Nanterre police officer, Florian M., who did his job and who is now paying a heavy price”.
In early July, Gofundme explained to AFP that the fundraising was "compliant" with its rules because the funds "will be paid directly to the family in question."
The complaint accuses Messiha, among other things, of having "publicly and falsely presented Nahel as having had multiple criminal offences, while also "lying" by promoting the policeman "as a hero of the Bataclan" when the official "in no way have intervened" during the terrorist attack that targeted the venue on 13 November 2015.
Messiha is also accused by the victim’s family of having relayed on Twitter "information allegedly from Nahel’s criminal records file" in order to "criminalise" him, "likely to have been provided by members of the police force."
The complaint targets the offences of misuse of the purpose of personal data processing and concealment.
