“Homophobic” murder in Metz: parents denounce “political recovery” following the death of their son

Voices are raised to denounce a murder “homophobic” in Metz. But the parents of Noahm, 19, denounce “political recovery” following the death of their son, for which justice does not consider, at this stage, a homophobic dimension.

The young man’s parents are “collapsed” and have “fed up (…) to see all this political recovery” around the murder of their son, violently attacked on May 30 in the early morning in Metz and died from his injuries three days later, their lawyer, Sophie Friha, explained on Wednesday. Noahm was associated on Tuesday with the minute of silence observed at the National Assembly for Lyhanna, killed at 11 years old in Gers.

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“We don’t want Noahm to be exploited by a party” political, declared the lawyer, saying that the parents of the victim especially want “societal awareness” and more «d’éducation» young people facing violence. “What is no longer tolerable is that there is not a year when there is not a child who dies for nothing, for a glance, in the city center of Metz.”continued Me Friha.

“Let justice take its course”

Homophobic motivation for aggression “is not a retained or closed track” for the moment, emphasized the lawyer. “The investigation is ongoing” et “we must let justice take its course”. “The State of Notoriety” that Noahm was homosexual, “It’s not hidden and it’s never been a problem” in her family, she assured. For the moment, the first elements of the investigation do not support a homophobic dimension of these facts, according to the public prosecutor of Metz, David Touvet.

Two men aged 20 and 27 were indicted and arrested for “murder aggravated by obvious drunkenness”a crime punishable by life imprisonment. “The investigating judge is seized of facts, and not of a fixed criminal qualification”as well as “all the aggravating circumstances which may be attached to it”recalls David Touvet.

So, “If the continuation of the investigations were to establish that the crime was committed because of the sexual orientation of the victim, this additional aggravating circumstance could be retained during the investigation”he explained. According to a police source, the attack came from a futile motive, between two groups who had initially sympathized, before the suspects got angry and asked the victim and her friends to delete videos they had taken of them dancing.

Minute de silence à l’Assemblée

Several voices were raised, the day after the attack, to denounce a homophobic motivation, and in particular SOS Homophobia or the Metz association Couleurs Gaies, which was at the initiative of a gathering organized on June 2 in Metz, the day of the young man’s death from his injuries.

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Last week, the rebellious presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon mentioned, in a message on “a homophobic attack” About the murder of Noahm. The next day, in a column published in Libération, Julia Torlet, co-president of SOS Homophobia, demanded in the name of the association “a minute of silence at the Assembly for Noahm, 19, killed because he was gay”. It was observed on Tuesday, also for Lyhanna and a gendarme killed in a helicopter accident on Sunday.

“The emotion of the nation is very strong after the murder of Noahm, the victim of a real lynching in the streets of Metz. Noahm was 19 years old. He was simply returning from an evening with friends. In our Republic, no one, absolutely no one, should be insulted, harassed, killed, for being who they are, for simply loving.”declared the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet. For Noah’s parents, “apolitical”this minute of silence would be “interesting” only “if it allowed us to no longer have this type of situation, these attacks of violence on the part of young people”.