Disappearance of Medhi Narjissi: Initially Concerning a Disturbing Disappearance, the Investigation Reclassified as Involuntary Manslaughter

Les parents de Medhi Narjissi sont toujours à la recherche de réponses. MAXPPP – Loïc Déquier

The investigation into the disappearance at sea, in early August, off the coast of South Africa, of rugby player Medhi Narjissi, a member of the French under-18 team, has been reclassified as involuntary manslaughter, the Agen prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday, October 16.

The judicial investigation, conducted until now for a worrying disappearance, will now have to “establish whether one or more clumsiness, one or more imprudent acts, one or more inattentions, one or more negligences, one or more breaches of an obligation of safety or prudence” could have been committed, said the prosecutor, Olivier Naboulet, in a press release.

Medhi Narjissi,17, was swept out to sea on August 7th on a beach known to be dangerous near the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, where he was present for an international tournament with the French U18 team. The Agen prosecutor's office had been contacted at the end of August by the player's family.

Towards a trial in the criminal court

Me Édouard Martial, lawyer for the Narjissi family, welcomed the move “to a higher stage” in the investigations. This judicial investigation, "is the accelerator of the procedure of responsibilities", he declared.

"It means that responsibilities can be released with the consequences that we know, that is to say a possible appearance before a criminal court", he argued. “The investigating judge wants explanations, he wants to know why we went there that day, who made the decision, while Dias Beach, as everyone knows, is known as one of the most dangerous”, he added.

The management called into question by the FFR

The French Rugby Federation (FFR) has for its part called into question, in an internal investigation report, the management of the U18s present during the gathering.

"The decision to organize a water recovery session on Dias Beach was taken without considering the dangerousness of the site", she said. An administrative investigation is also underway, led by the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research, which must submit its conclusions “before the end of November".

In the meantime, the U18 team's technical sports advisors have “been suspended as a precautionary measure" by the Ministry of Sports at the request of the FFR. The U18 manager has filed a complaint for malicious denunciation, his lawyer believing that the FFR tried to "pillory" to make him bear the responsibility for the disappearance of the young international.