Death of Malik Oussekine
Malik Oussekine (1964 – 6 December 1986) was a French-Algerian student. He had been nearby mass student protests in Paris opposing university reforms (the so-called "Devaquet Law") and proposed immigration restrictions. He was in no way involved in the demonstration, but he was chased and beaten by police to death. Oussekine was transported to a nearby hospital where he was soon pronounced dead, though it was later revealed that he had died on the spot. News of his death intensified the protests, and the laws were scrapped two days later.[1]
The victim
The press evokes his steps to become a priest[3], his sister Sarah Nassera confirming: “he wanted to become a Jesuit priest and he always had his Bible with him”[4].
Malik Oussekine lost in 1978 his father, Miloud Oussekine[5], who had fought in the French troops during the Second World War.
After the war his father returned to Algeria to get married there and then immediately returned to France to earn a living in the coal mines of Thionville, in Lorraine[5], then successively as a mason and as a truck driver[5]. His wife Aïcha had joined him in Lorraine in 1953[5] and the family then settled in Meudon-la-Forêt, where the seven children grew up with the support of older brother Mohamed[5].
Last-born, Malik Oussekine overcomes his health problems (kidneys) to practice many sports. Under dialysis in January 1986, he trained three times a week in basketball at Boulogne-Billancourt, also trying his hand at the guitar, because he loved music[5].
Her sister Sarah Oussekine works in tourism[6] and is involved in the women's association La Maison des Femmes de Paris before founding in 1995 a feminist association in her commune of residence, in Saint-Denis, Voix d'elles rebelles[6]. Her attachment to the cause of women goes back to her readings, Benoîte Groult and The Second Sex of Simone de Beauvoir, who “spoke of the female condition as I could feel it in relation to Algerian women”[6].
Facts
The witness Paul Bayzelon, servant at the ministry of finances: " I was returning home. As I close the door after dialing the code, I see the distraught face of a young man. I let him pass and I want to close the door. […] Two policemen rush into the hall, rush on the guy in the background and beat him with incredible violence. He fell, they continued beating with truncheons and kicking in the stomach and back. The victim was content to shout: “I did nothing, I did nothing”. Paul Bayzelon tries to come to the aid of the youngster but he, too, receives baton blows.
Ten minutes later, the SAMU arrived and provided first aid, then transported Malik Oussekine in intensive care to the surgical emergency room at Cochin hospital, where he was officially declared dead at 3:20 a.m.
The victim actually died at midnight in the hall of the building, reveals 4 days later the report of the medical regulator of the SAMU. The young man was nevertheless transported to the hospital to avoid any incident. This information will be disclosed by the lawyer for Malik Oussékine's family, Georges Kiejman, on December 9, the day before the announcement of the second wave of silent marches.
References
- Anne Sa'adah, Contemporary France: A Democratic Education, Rowman & Littlefield, 2003, p. 219