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, was reclassified as homicide, the prosecutor’s office announced on Wednesday, October 16. of Agen.
The judicial investigation, carried out until now due to a worrying disappearance, will now have to be opened “establish whether there is one or more blunders, one or more recklessness, one or more inattention, one or more negligence, one or more breaches of an obligation of safety or prudence” could have been committed, prosecutor Olivier Naboulet said in a press release.
Medhi Narjissi, 17, was swept out to sea on August 7 on a beach known to be dangerous near the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa, where he was attending an international tournament with the French under-18 team. The Agen prosecutor’s office was seized at the end of August by the player’s family.
Administrative investigation in progress
Édouard Martial, lawyer for the Narjissi family, welcomed the step “at a higher stage” in investigations. This judicial information, “is the accelerator of the responsibilities proceduredeclared. This means that responsibilities can be released with the consequences that we know, that is, a possible appearance before a criminal court.” “The investigating judge wants to receive explanations, he wants to know why we went there that day, who made the decision, when Dias Beach, as everyone knows, is reputed to be one of the most dangerous »added the lawyer.
The French Rugby Federation (FFR) questioned, in an internal investigation report, the management of the under-18 team present during the concentration. “The decision to organize a recovery session in the water on Dias beach was made without considering the danger of the place”appreciated remarkably.
An administrative investigation is also underway, carried out by the General Inspection of Education, Sports and Research, which must report its conclusions. “before the end of November”. Until then, the sports technical advisors of the under-18 team have “He has been suspended as a precautionary measure” by the Ministry of Sports at the request of the FFR.
The U-18 coach has filed a complaint for slander, since his lawyer believes that the FFR tried “to be ridiculed” to make him assume responsibility for the disappearance of the young international.
