Back Up of Islamophobic attack on Nouredine Rachedi
The 'Natives of the Republic' is a radical, reactionary group formed by French blacks and Muslims. IT claims to be anti-imperialist, anti-racist and anti-Islamophobic. They're also anti-Zionism, anti-USA, pro-Hezbollah and pro-Palestinian terror.
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Twelve days after being attacked, Nouredine Rachedi (30), still bears the marks of the beating he received on the night of July 24th at Guyancourt in Yvelines in the north of France. A swollen eye, scars on his head and hesitant steps. This French Muslim, who has a diploma in statistics and is currently studying customer management, was coming back home shortly before 1am and cut through a public park.
According to his statement to the police, two "European type" men, without any distinct clothing, asked him at a distance for a cigarette. Rachedi says he didn't have more than two and so told them he couldn't give them any.
One of the men then came closer and asked if he was a Muslim, Rachedi told the police. He answered 'yes'. He was then asked how long he was in France. He answered he was born in France and always lived there.
After these question, Rachedi asked why they wanted to know. The second man approached and said 'because we are Nazis." He then asked Rachedi what he thought of the state of Yugoslavia. This took place four days after the announcement that Radovan Karadzic was arrested.
Rachedi answered that he didn't have an opinion on it. The first individual then hit him on the head. Rachedi says he fell to the ground and then received more kicks to his body and head. He says he protected himself as best as he could by curling up and covering his chest with his hands. He was attacked for less than a minute, and then heard one of them say it's enough, let's go.
Rachedi got up and called for help, which then took charge. He was given 21 days of complete rest from work by the medical-legal unit at Versailles due to bruising, a collapsed lunge and injuries to his head requiring suturing.
The young man, who's never suffered violence, appears very influenced. He says he can't stop going over what happened in his mind. He was very scared but doesn't want this "racist, anti-Muslim attack to remain unpunished". After the attack Rachedi, who's a delegate of the CFDT trade union, turned to the Indigènes de la République association (Natives of the Republic), of which he's been a member since April, for support.
The association contacted two lawyers. Rachedi says he's confident that his case isn't the only one but that others preferred to keep quiet.
The Versailles prosecution indicated they're working on it. One of the alleged attackers, known for similar cases, has been identified.
The police originally classified the offense as willful violence committed by 'a gang'. The prosecution notes that according to the victim the remarks were clearly racist, and that the classification might change, based on the results of the investigation.