Five police officers are facing trial over allegations that they violently assaulted a 41-year-old Syrian asylum seeker in Esch-sur-Alzette in 2019 and then tried to cover up the incident.
The events date back to July 2019, when police were called to a bar where the man, reportedly intoxicated, was disturbing customers.
After a doctor at the Esch Hospital Centre Emil Mayrich (CHEM) confirmed he could be held in a sobering-up cell, one of the officers allegedly punched him in the face with such force that his jaw was broken and his eye injured. Instead of ensuring medical treatment, the officers took him directly to a holding cell and filed their reports.
The following morning, day shift officers found the man lying in a pool of blood and rushed him back to hospital. An internal inquiry later revealed discrepancies between the officers’ accounts and CCTV footage from the hospital, leading to their arrest and suspension.
