More than 900 of the roughly 2,500 people arrested during last weekend's rioting and looting in France are being sent through a fast-track court procedure, leaving courts stretched and defence lawyers angry, The Guardian reports.
The procedure, known as comparution immédiate, allows suspects to be tried straight after police custody or within days. Lawyers say they have had almost no time to meet their clients before hearings.
The unrest broke out on the margins of student and union demonstrations. Officials have described many of those charged as opportunists rather than political activists, and the Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, said most had no previous convictions. Sentences seen in court ranged from fines and suspended terms to electronic tagging and partial custody. The justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, extended police custody to 72 hours and urged judges to be firm.
Source: The Guardian
