Up to two years in prison were pronounced Tuesday by the Bastia court against four supporters arrested in 2016 after the discovery of “Explosive pétanque balls” during a demonstration in Bastia. They had come to support Maxime Beux, this Corsican supporter stricken in the Marne on February 13, 2016 during clashes on the sidelines of the match of L 1 Reims-Bastia (0-1).
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Maxime Beux was one of the four defendants before the Bastia Criminal Court. Prosecuted for refusal to take DNA samples, he was released. A fine of 600 euros including 300 euros suspended had been requested against him. During this demonstration of support, on February 20, 2016 in Bastia, the police discovered explosive devices stored in three bags near the prefecture of Haute-Corse. In these bags, ten pétanque balls filled with hunting powder and equipped with firing wicks, two loaves of 500 grams of “Nitram 9”, an industrial explosive, and detonators.
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A third supporter was sentenced to ten months in prison
The court sentenced to two years in prison the two supporters whose DNA had been found on these bags as well as on clothes and objects “Can be used during urban violence”, in accordance with the requisitions of the public prosecutor of Bastia Arnaud Viornery. They were acquitted of the refusal to take DNA samples.
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Against the fourth defendant, prosecuted for criminal conspiracy and refusal to take DNA samples, the court handed down a 10-month prison sentence that could be converted into house arrest with an electronic bracelet and a fine of 300 euros for refusal to take the sample. His DNA had been found on a bag containing clothes, next to the bags of explosive devices.
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At the hearing on November 2, the prosecutor denounced “ facts which could have sowed chaos in the streets of Bastia and killed people ” : « Even if time has passed, we must take the measure of the lethal risk inherent in the manufacture of this type of device. “ Indicted for “Willful violence with the use or threat of a weapon resulting in permanent mutilation”, the Reims police officer accused of having knocked out Maxime Beux was referred to the Marne Assize Court and faces 15 years of criminal imprisonment during a trial which should take place in 2022.
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