“I want to be heard by the courts like any other citizen, under any regime whatsoever,” Damien Abad said on Wednesday May 17 in a statement seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP). The former Minister of Solidarity, MP for Ain, is the subject of a preliminary investigation following a complaint for “attempted rape” filed at the end of June 2022. Parliamentary immunity protects elected officials from any coercive measure – custody on sight or judicial review – but does not prevent indictments.
The office of the National Assembly, the highest collegiate body of the institution, should rule on his case soon, probably on May 24, following a request from justice that the deputy supports. As a reminder, a parliamentarian cannot be the subject of an arrest or any other measure depriving or restricting his freedom without authorization from the Bureau of the Assembly, except for a crime, flagrant offense or final conviction.
Requests for waiver of immunity are made by the public prosecutor’s office and transmitted by the Keeper of the Seals to the president of the assembly concerned. The office decides on the “serious, loyal and sincere” nature of the request, not on the merits. Informed by the services of the National Assembly of the request made for the lifting of his immunity, Mr. Abad specifies that he wrote to the president of the institution, Yaël Braun-Pivet, “so that the office can rule as soon as possible” and accede to this request.
Complaints closed in 2012 and 2017
“I will defend myself relentlessly in order to prove my innocence and clear my honor,” insisted the former Minister of Solidarity. The elected representative of Ain, related to the Renaissance group, assures him: “After the opening of the preliminary investigation, I always said that I was at the disposal of justice in order to be able to answer the questions of the investigators and thus confirm my innocence in the face of the despicable calumnies of which I am the target. »
The former leader of the LR deputies was appointed in May 2022 Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and People with Disabilities. The day after his appointment, Mediapart relayed accusations against him of rape, dating from 2010 and 2011. The complaints were closed in 2012 and then 2017.
At the end of June 2022, a complaint was once again filed by “a centrist elected official”, leading to the opening of a preliminary investigation for “attempted rape”. Mr. Abad, re-elected MP for a third term, left the government in early July, following a reshuffle. The “conditions of serenity” were “no longer present”, explained Olivier Véran, spokesperson for the government.
