The Meziani affair, or the symbol of tensions between lawyers and magistrates

If an official date had to be given to the declaration of war between lawyers and magistrates, historians would undoubtedly retain that of November 13, 2024. On that day, the Var Assize Court acquitted Marseille resident Kamel Meziani, presented as the boss of the powerful drug network in the city of Oliviers A, who had nevertheless been sentenced to thirty years in prison at first instance. A spectacular turnaround and a victory for his long-standing lawyers, Raphaël Chiche and Thomas Bidnic, assisted for the occasion by Keren Saffar ( ^Mr. Chiche's partner), and Christian Saint-Palais, a reference in criminal procedure and former president of the Association of Criminal Lawyers.

The blow is all the more severe for the judicial institution since Kamel Meziani, through his lawyers, had filed a complaint in 2023, with civil action, against Judge Céline Chiusa, vice-president in charge of the investigation, for forgery and use of forged public documents, fraud, false testimony and violation of the confidentiality of the investigation. This is a sign, for many magistrates, that these lawyers specializing in organized crime are now ready to do anything to destabilize the judicial institution, by targeting the methods of a judge.

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