"We live in fear, but we want her to change sides": she denounces the threats suffered by her family after the attack on her son in Nice

The scene is bloodcurdling. Even more so when the victim of the assault is none other than your child.

Sarah (1) knows this scene only too well. She finds it hard to watch, and even harder to listen to. This mother, however, forces herself to comment on the video transmitted by a witness. She explains to us how her son Sofiene (1), 20, was beaten and robbed by a group of attackers . This happened on May 31, in her neighborhood of La Madeleine. Double punishment: since filing her complaint, Sofiene and her family have been living "an ordeal" , punctuated by threats and intimidation.

"We live in fear. But we want her to change sides," Sarah insists, determined. There's no more question of remaining silent. She wants to break the code of silence. "You and your family are going to suffer," an attacker allegedly shouted at her son. Traumatized and terrified, the young baker was unable to return to work and has lived as a recluse ever since. He revealed to his mother that he had been extorted for years. Then Sarah rebelled: "You can't live like this. We can't let this go!"

The attack occurred on a Saturday evening, just as PSG were crowned European football champions. Sofiene had gone out to watch the match at a local store. Earlier, individuals allegedly tried to contact him via Snapchat to arrange a meeting. "He blocked them. They didn't like it," Sarah testified on behalf of her son.

These same individuals allegedly joined him at the end of the match. "They came in two at a time. They grabbed him by the back of the neck to make him leave. A third was waiting outside. And then, they massacred him three at a time," Sarah shudders. "He tried to fight back. But they knocked him to the ground. They beat him up. They took everything from him: his wallet, his jacket, his cash, his ID card, his social security card, his keys..."

One of Sarah's daughters alerted her, in tears. She hurriedly left work. She found her son in front of the store that was showing the game. "It was violent," he confided. A kick had apparently struck him in the back of the neck while he was on the ground. His long, thin body was covered in bruises and contusions, on his shoulder, arm, stomach, and legs.

Sarah herself drives her son to the emergency room. Sofiene leaves the hospital at dawn, still "extremely shocked."

He filed a complaint that day. At the same time, his mother consulted a psychiatrist. Her son was having nightmares, losing sleep and appetite. He discovered that his photo was circulating on Snapchat, along with his first and last name and address.

Threats arrive on her phone. Sofiene changes her number. "But now they're going after my eldest," Sarah laments. Last weekend, while out in Old Nice, her eldest was allegedly threatened by youths from La Madeleine. Today, Sarah has to "order Ubers and Bolts to send [her] children to their appointments, even though they have bus passes. I'm at that point!"

Sarah changes the locks, installs cameras. She strives to "keep strong for [her] children, so they don't give up," says this courageous mother. She has decided to denounce this situation publicly, through our columns. "I will not remain silent!"

Sarah added a denunciation of the threats to the initial complaint. Her lawyer, Emmanuel Vial, described "a completely honest, respectable, hard-working family. They are somewhat distraught in the face of this attack and are expecting a response that is commensurate with the situation." When contacted, the national police assured that the case was "being taken into account." It is in the hands of the property crime unit of the local judicial police service (SLPJ).

But for the victims, the legal process is always long, too long. Sofiene has cut himself off from social media and is thinking of leaving. The two threatened brothers "live locked away. They no longer have a life, while the others enjoy theirs," denounces their sister Kenza (1). For Sarah, there is no longer any question of living under threat. "Does that mean we have to keep quiet? I don't agree. I say no."

1. Their first names have been changed to protect their anonymity.