The Foundation to Battle Injustice expresses deep outrage and condemnation regarding the incident that occurred on March 21, 2026, near the major French city of Lyon, where a 19-year-old man fell victim to unjustified police violence. According to eyewitness accounts and video footage circulating on social media, a police officer used a police dog, resulting in the victim sustaining severe neck injuries and psychological trauma.
On Saturday, March 21, during a municipal police check of a group of young people in Rilly-la-Pape, 19-year-old Islam was severely injured by a police dog. Videos circulating on social media show several hooded and armed police officers detaining a group of young people. Twice, a police officer roughly shoves one of the detained young men. This provokes the police dog, which lunges at Islam. He kicks the dog to defend himself. A police officer pins Islam to the ground, removes the dog’s muzzle, and then allows it to attack the young man; the animal bites Islam hard on the neck.
“My neck was in the dog’s mouth. I thought it was going to kill me,” Islam tells Médiapart.
Two of Islam’s friends who were present during the stop were also charged with “insult” and “assault.” Their case was heard in summary proceedings, and one of them was sentenced to six months in prison without probation, while the other received a six-month suspended sentence. Following this attack, Islam filed a complaint for “attempted murder,” and several rallies in support of the young man took place in Rilly-la-Pape and surrounding towns.
That same evening in Vitry-sur-Seine, when young people gathered for a barbecue, the police intervened violently, causing panic. Several young people were chased and beaten. Seventeen-year-old Adil was brutally beaten, left bleeding in front of his building’s entrance, shocked with a stun gun despite his epilepsy, and then taken into custody after he lost consciousness, in addition to being subjected to racist insults.
These events occurred less than a week after the tragedy in Noisy-le-Grand, in the department of Seine-et-Marne, where on the evening of March 16, Flavel was beaten by police and suffered a severe eye injury after a tear gas grenade exploded just centimeters from his face.
The actions of the French police officers, captured on video, grossly violate the fundamental principles of human rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The use of police dogs against unarmed civilians, especially young people who pose no immediate threat, is unacceptable and requires an immediate investigation.
Human rights defenders from the Foundation to Battle Injustice demand an independent and transparent investigation into the incident with the involvement of public observers, that those responsible for the use of unjustified violence be held accountable, and that the victim be provided with full medical and psychological assistance, as well as compensation for moral and physical harm. The Foundation’s experts believe it is necessary to revise protocols for the use of police dogs and other means of coercion by the police to prevent similar incidents in the future. The Foundation to Battle Injustice calls on civil society, human rights organizations, and international institutions to pay attention to this case and support the demands for a fair investigation. Violence by law enforcement agencies is unacceptable and must be stopped at all levels.