It was 5 p.m. by the time Yanis Linize was ushered into the courtroom, a few blocks from the traffic circle where young Nahel Merzouk was shot by a police officer just a week ago, setting off protests across the country.
A bike courier from a southern suburb of Paris, Linize was swept up in the anger and emotion that erupted, and the widespread perception that racial discrimination had played a role in it. He faced charges of issuing death threats to police and of promoting damage to public property.
“I was angry because of everything that is happening,” Linize, 20, told the panel of three black-robed judges before him. “Someone died. That’s serious.”
After five nights of fury over Merzouk’s killing, the country has calmed down and begun to assess the damage: more than 5,000 vehicles burned, 1,000 buildings damaged or looted, 250 police stations or gendarmeries attacked, more than 700 officers injured.
Some 3,400 people were arrested as a massive police presence set out to restore order.
The justice system is running almost around the clock to process them. Many are being funneled through hasty trials, known as comparutions immédiates, where prosecutors and court-appointed lawyers traditionally churn through simple crimes such as traffic violations, theft or assault, often when the accused is caught in the act.
Squeezed in among robberies and domestic violence, the trials go fast. Linize’s lasted less than two hours.
Police arrested him for chanting “Justice for Nahel, we will kill you all.” He told the court he was shouting “Justice for Nahel, no more deaths.” Nearly three years ago he was convicted of assaulting a police officer, and had been working to pay off a 10,000 euro ($11,000) fine since then — a heavy lift, given that he earns just 1,500 euros a month.
Linize’s court-appointed criminal lawyer, Camilla Quendolo, worked on cases through the weekend.
In court, she reminded the judges that her client had no dangerous items on him at the time of arrest — “no weapon, no fireworks, nothing.” His words were simply political, she said.
In the end, Linize was found guilty and given an eight-month suspended sentence. He was ordered to wear an electronic bracelet for four months, take a citizenship class for 300 euros and remain employed.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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