Guilty of assaulting Couillard

Photo Agence QMI, Toma Iczkovits
Esteban Torres Wicttorff had quickly been overpowered by the body guards of the prime minister Philippe Couillard, just after having launched an object to the face.

Michael Nguyen

Friday, October 6, 2017 10:17

UPDATE
Friday, October 6, 2017 20:45

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The young man who was taken to the prime minister Philippe Couillard during a gathering of the LGBT community has committed an attack ” direct democracy “, argued the Crown, which opposes any absolution.

“Even if he has launched an object with a low dangerous on the prime minister, it is necessary to take into account the political context of this gesture “, launched Me Amélie Rivard of the prosecution, while Esteban Torres Wicttorff pleading guilty to armed assault.

The attack was occurred in Montréal on June 16, 2016, a few days after a massacre in a club gay in Orlando. Public figures were on hand, including the prime minister of the province who had taken the floor.

“Everything was peaceful, the crowd was estimated at 5000 people “, has explained to Me Amélie Rivard of the Crown.

Not injured

But at one point, the accused 21-year-old, a transgender, is slender on the prime minister, throwing him an object to the face.

“The revolution begins “, then shouted Torres Wicttorff.

The prime minister, reached to the chin, was quickly evacuated. He has not suffered injury.

In the tumult, no one was able to find the object again launched from the prime minister. At the time, some people had spoken of a stone, others a ball of paper.

The accused, for his part, says that it was a pellet of paper on which he had written of the claims. This information could not be verified.

“The act was political and symbolic,” claims Torres Wicttorff who hope to obtain absolution, that is to say, the absence of a criminal record.

The prosecution, for its part, calls for community work in the context of a probation.

Activism

In his testimony, Torres Wicttorff explained that it had acted in response to the speech from the prime minister that day.

“He said that Montreal is an inclusive city, said the accused. There’s this desire, but with what I and others have experienced it, it is not exactly that. It came to hit me; at first I was angry, then sad. This is not the kind of activism that I aim for in life, I learned to better myself to manage. “

Judge Daniel Bédard will pronounce the sentence on October 20. Torres Wicttorff is represented by Arij Rihahi.