In a press conference held this Monday, the Roya Citoyenne association expressed its anger following the arrest by the police of seven people on March 13th.
On Wednesday, March 13th, early in the morning, seven people were arrested at their homes, including three members of the association’s Board of Directors. Seven gendarmerie brigades were reportedly mobilized to carry out this operation resulting from a judicial commission from an investigative judge in Nice. “We notice that rights are being eroded. We see prosecutors disregarding Constitutional Rights and inventing supposed profits made by supportive citizens,” comments Henri Rossi, regional delegate of the League of Human Rights.
The arrested individuals were held in custody for 30 hours on charges of “aiding illegal entry and stay” and underwent long interrogations. The association discovered that several members had been under surveillance for nearly a year, and searches were conducted (computers, cell phones, accounting documents). At the core of all this, Roya Citoyenne is suspected of being linked to the passage of a Kurdish family in an irregular situation to England. This is something the association completely denies. “They want to brand Roya Citoyenne as a smuggling network that helps migrants leave for England, while we have a humanitarian and food aid goal. We strive to ensure that these people can exercise their rights,” declares René Dahon, a member of the association.
In 2017, Roya Citoyenne was the subject of a dissolution request from another association, “Défendre la Roya,” and from elected official Olivier Bettati, an associate of Marion Maréchal-Le Pen. The Nice tribunal authorized Roya Citoyenne to continue its actions and ordered Olivier Bettati’s association to pay 5000 euros in damages to it. Nevertheless, according to the members present this Monday, the sanction has never been applied.
“We are witnessing the criminalization of humanitarian associations. They are being attacked because they expose the dysfunctions of the State, and they end up being considered internal enemies,” explains René Dahon.
