Domestic violence: punches, kicks and belt blows, six months in prison for the manager of a kebab shop in Millau

L'avocate de la victime parle “d'esclavage familial”. Centre Presse – José A. Torres

The man, whose criminal record shows eight convictions, was presented this Monday, February 26 before the Rodez judicial court for habitual violence against his partner.

It was one of her uncles who, on February 22, came across the young woman and her three children, in a square in Millau. She explains to him that she has just been kicked out of the marital home by her husband, who is drunk, and that the latter has once again assaulted her. A certificate of total interruption of work for two days attests to this, and the woman decides to file a complaint at the Millau police station.

"Arguments… like in all families"

Accompanied to the court this Monday by a translator, the spouse, originally from Turkey, begins by denying the facts, citing "disputes" , "as in all families". He was taken into police custody on Thursday then transferred to the Rodez remand center while waiting for the hearing. A hearing that his partner did not wish to attend because, as his lawyer will explain, "she no longer wants to hear the sound of his voice".

"Family slavery" and "starvation wage"

The young woman has suffered violence for 14 years. The violence of the past week was too much for her, who already had a finger broken by her husband, was punched, kicked, belted, shoe punched and had her hair pulled out. Her partner also dragged her to the ground. The hearings of the three children will confirm this climate of almost daily violence. "Two to three times a week", according to the couple's daughter. "He hits her hard on the head and stomach", said his younger brother. They all also mention their father’s heavy alcohol consumption.

Arriving in France in 1998, the man is today the owner of a kebab shop in Millau, after having been a lumberjack and mason. Between 2000 and 2018, he was convicted eight times for violence against a spouse, a minor, in a meeting, abandonment of family.

"She is afraid of reprisals"

The victim's lawyer, to discuss her client's situation, speaks of a context "of family slavery" and a job at her husband's restaurant for "a pittance salary". She asks the man for 2,000 € damages and a ban on making contact. "My client is afraid of retaliation. Fear for her, fear for her children", says the lawyer.

The public prosecutor, for her part, demanded 18 months in prison, 12 of which were suspended against the restaurateur. His lawyer, Me Balanger, sees at the end of the investigation only a case in which "there is not much& ;quot; and that the comments made by the children at the police station were intended to "defend their mother"; as such, he requested the release of his client.

The court did not hear it that way, deciding to follow the prosecutor's requisitions. The man returned to prison after the hearing to serve a six-month prison sentence. He was also sentenced to 12 months suspended prison sentence, 2,000 € damages and a ban on appearing at his victim's home.