A Jewish family beaten and kidnapped for several hours at their home. It was September 8, 2017 in Livry-Gargan in Seine-Saint-Denis. The assault that took place a few months after the murder of Sarah Halimi made the headlines. The Minister of the Interior at the time, Gérard Collomb, even reacted by bringing his “deep support for the family and those in charge of Jewish institutions in France”.
A home attack
That morning, Roger Pinto, 84, his wife Mireille, 74, and their son David, 49 at the time, were attacked at their home by three burglars. The three men threaten them, hit them, tie them up and kidnap them. They want at all costs to leave with the safe, a safe that does not exist. They end up fleeing, two and a half hours later, with jewelry, watches and bank cards. Seven days of total incapacity for work were prescribed for the couple, four for their son, sick, who lives at home.
Today, nine people are tried before the Assize Court of Bobigny in this case, three for the assault, another is suspected of having been the sponsor, and the others for the concealment of the stolen objects. The examining magistrate accepted the anti-Semitic nature of the attack.
“The Pinto family was attacked for being Jewish”
For the victims’ lawyer, there is no doubt. “Pinto family assaulted for being Jewish family“, declares Marc Bensimhon. “The attackers said to them, ‘You are Jewish so you have money’, ‘You are spoiled,’ We are Wood Robins’, implied because it is a Jewish family, she is rich and we can target it “. For the lawyer, this is clearly a “anti-Semitic prejudice, which has become commonplace, unfortunately”
He is convinced, the Pinto couple was spotted before the burglary. “Roger Pinto, is someone known in the Jewish community of Livry-Gargan. Everyone knew that several Jewish families lived in the street where he lived”. He was also president of Siona, an association “in defense of the Jewish people and the State of Israel”.
“A family that is doing badly today”
Four years later, the Pintos moved. They left their home in Livry where they had lived for over 30 years. Too difficult to stay there after this assault. “They are doing badly, they are still traumatized”, says their lawyer. The father, suffering from cancer, is very weak, but should be present at the start of the trial. The mother, Mireille, suffers from depression. The victims wish, during the hearings, “that justice be done, that the truth be told and that in this truth be clearly recognized the anti-Semitic character of this aggression”, affirms Master Bensimhon.
The trial at the Bobigny assizes should last nine days. The Licra, the MRAP and the National Office for Vigilance Against Antisemitism have taken action.
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