French police charged with rape, assault

By Hajer M’tiri

PARIS (AA) - A prosecutor on Monday confirmed four French police had been charged with a series of crimes -- including rape and assault -- over the violent arrest of a 22-year-old black man on Thursday night.

Eric Dupond-Moretti, a lawyer for the alleged victim -- identified only as Theo -- said the young man had been raped with a baton during the arrest in a Parisian suburb.

One officer has been charged with rape, the other three with voluntary violence, Bobigny public prosecutor's office confirmed on Monday.

It is understood Theo remains in hospital having undergone emergency surgery.

French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux suspended the four police officers "immediately and on a precautionary basis".

The alleged abuse took place during an ID check in the Aulnay-Sous-Bois commune of Seine-Saint-Denis, a district northeast of the French capital.

Thursday's incident was captured on film by surveillance cameras belonging to local police, which shows an officer delivering a horizontal blow with his baton to the buttocks of the young man after the detainee's pants “dropped by themselves,” the Le Monde newspaper reported, citing a source close to the investigation.

The incident sparked outrage among residents of the commune, which saw two nights of disturbances over the weekend.