The Compiègne prosecutor’s office announced on Friday July 7 that it had opened an investigation after the disclosure by Oise Hebdo of the surname and town of residence of the police officer responsible for the fatal shooting of Nahel M., 17, in Nanterre on June 27. during a traffic check. The article is also illustrated with a photo of the policeman from the Copains d’avant website.

This investigation was opened for disseminating “information making it possible to identify or locate a person holding public authority” for the purpose of exposing him or his family to a risk of “harm to person or property “, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) the prosecutor, Marie-Céline Lawrysz.

The research section of the Amiens gendarmerie was in charge of the investigation.

Thursday evening, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced on Twitter that he had seized the public prosecutor of Oise in order to obtain the withdrawal of the article from Oise Hebdo. “Despite our requests to remove this irresponsible content, it [the post] persists,” the minister added. “I am surprised by the minister’s decision to act immediately against Oise Hebdo when the information has been circulating on the Internet for six days”, reacted to AFP the director of the newspaper, Vincent Gérard.

Death threats posted on Twitter

Section 39 of the Freedom of the Press Act 1881, which prohibits the publication of the identity of police officers whose duties require anonymity, “does not prohibit the disclosure of the identity” of that police officer, said the newspaper in a tweet on Friday, again giving his full name. “Information is also about knowing people’s names and knowing where they come from,” Mr. Gérard also insisted on Friday, assuring that he had no “deliberate intention to harm”. “I don’t see what compels a local media to only talk about the berry festival,” he said.

In addition, the national center for the fight against online hate (PNLH) is investigating death threats, published on Twitter, targeting this policeman, AFP learned on Friday from the Paris prosecutor’s office. Laurent-Franck Liénard said he filed a complaint with the 17th arrondissement police station in Paris for death threats against himself and his client. He made no further comments.

Asked about the protection of the policeman’s home, the Oise prefecture assures that “all the measures” have been taken “to protect those who need it”.

The death of young Nahel M. has set the country ablaze, sparking several nights of violence, burning cars, ransacking public buildings and looting in many cities across France. Indicted for intentional homicide and imprisoned on June 29, the police officer who fired the shot was detained on Thursday.