More than a thousand people demonstrated in Paris on Saturday, to demand “justice” for Mauritanian Alassane Diarra (35 years old), who died more than a month ago while in police custody, amid accusations of “deliberate violence” and a new complaint of “destroying evidence.”
Published on: 02/21/2026 - 20:50 Last updated: 02/22/2026 - 13:34
More than a thousand people demonstrated on Saturday in Paris to demand “justice” for Mauritanian Alassane Diarra, who died more than a month ago while in police custody in Paris.
Moussa Diarra, a relative of the victim, said in a statement at the start of the march in which 1,200 people participated, according to the police, “We wanted to organize this demonstration to receive an explanation from the police who killed him in cold blood, and to achieve justice.”
Details of march and death
The march began behind a large banner that read: “Justice and truth for Alassane Diarra, who was assassinated by the police.”
The 35-year-old Mauritanian spent the night of January 15-16 in detention, after he was stopped in front of a building used to provide housing for workers.
A video clip filmed by neighbors and circulated on social media showed a policeman punching a man lying on the ground, while another officer stood by and watched.
Investigations and complaints
Five days after the incident, the Parisian Public Prosecution Office announced the opening of a judicial investigation into “deliberate violence that led to death at the hands of a person authorized to exercise public authority.”
On Monday, the Diarra family’s lawyer reported filing a new complaint on charges of “destroying evidence,” denouncing the absence of any recordings from the cameras installed on the uniforms of the police officers involved.
The Public Prosecution had explained that these cameras, which are supposed to be installed on the uniforms of police officers, “were not in operation, because their batteries had run out, according to what they said, and this was verified by the officer,” without giving further details about the duties of this officer.
A gathering was held in honor of Diarra on January 18, while thousands of people participated in a march organized on the 25th of the same month.
France 24/AFP
Keywords related to the article
The content you want to browse is no longer in service or is currently unavailable.
