The trial of General Christian Piquemal, a respected former French Legion commander who was arrested during Saturday’s anti-migrant rally in Calais, has been postponed after the 75-year-old was hospitalized, his lawyer says.
He was due to appear in court on Monday in the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
“General Christian Piquemal will not appear in court today, the state of his health means he can’t attend,” the prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer said, as cited by AFP.
In the morning, General Christian Piquemal was sent to hospital due to health concerns, and is now set to stand trial on May 12, Le Monde reported citing his lawyer as saying.
#CALAIS Voici Rudy, dont je parlais tout à l'heure pic.twitter.com/Y9CmaFMSrp
— Louis San (@Louis_San) February 8, 2016
However, four people scheduled to appear alongside the general will be present, as planned, the prosecutor added.
Another lawyer on the case, Hervé Krych, said the general was dehydrated and suffering from the effects of the cold temperatures in his cell, journalist Louis San reported. Krych added that the general is generally in good shape physically. “He is a strong man,” the lawyer said.
The four accused, who are to stand trial today, were met with a rendition of the ‘Marseille’ (French national anthem), sung by their supporters outside the court.
The arrest at the unsanctioned PEGIDA rally in Calais on Saturday was one of 20, and came as clashes erupted between the ‘anti-Islamization’ group and the police in the French port city.
The 75-year-old general is considered to have played “the main role” in the protest.
Piquemal was charged with “participation in an unlawful assembly which did not dissolve after warning.” Four people in his entourage were also charged with possession of weapons, including a knuckle-duster and a Taser gun.
Tens of thousands took to the streets of 14 European countries on Saturday, protesting against the influx of Muslim migrants.
Some protests turned violent, with clashes starting between demonstrators and police.
https://www.rt.com/news/331722-french-general-piquemal-trial/
“In the morning, General Christian Piquemal was sent to hospital due to health concerns,…”
Good thing it wasn’t an anti-Semitic charge. He’d probably never make it out of that hospital alive.
Not after Dr. Schwartz took his case, anyway.