France: 'Our lives are left hanging': Families of victims of deaths in police custody wait for justice to be done

Index Number: EUR 21/003/2011
Date Published: 30 November 2011
Categories: France

For years Amnesty International has been documenting serious human rights abuses by law enforcement officials¸ including unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, in France. The European Court of Human Rights has condemned France for such abuses and yet allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials persist, and dangerous restraining techniques continue to be used during arrest. This briefing follows up on Amnesty International’s previous research on these issues, and focuses specifically on the impact of deaths in police custody and of the lack of accountability for the victims’ families.