Former rebel commander Majdi Nema brutally tortured by French security: Lawyer

Raphael Kempf, lawyer of the former spokesman of Jaish al-Islam Salafist group who has been detained by French authorities for 15 months, has confirmed that the photo that was circulated on social media is in fact real and was taken when Majdi Nema had arrived at the prison early 2020, two days from his arrest.

Kempf denied that the photo was of Nema resisting arrest, adding that it was taken by the jailers in prison to be placed in his personal file. The photograph shows that Nema was beaten upon his arrest at the end of January 2020 by French police.

According to the lawyer, the police are under intense scrutiny by the French people for their brutal treatment of prisoners. In Majdi’s case, he said that the police may have assumed that he was a war criminal and should be treated as such, which is, according to Kempf, neither true nor acceptable.

The lawyer called on human rights activists to stand for all similar cases of brutality as the law stipulates that the rights of citizens be respected, even if the person is convicted of war crimes.

Kempf explained that he asked the judge to investigate the torture and beatings that his client was subjected to, but has not yet received a response. However, he said that his main goal, before even looking into the violence practiced by the police, is for Nema to be acquitted and to go free.

Nema resides in France with a student visa after leaving his position and duties in the Army of Islam. He was then charged as a suspect of crimes and torture, and was subsequently arrested from his place of residence in Marseille.

Last year, French court charged him with several crimes, including war crimes and torture.