Bucharest gendarme detained over alleged assault of French transgender woman
Military prosecutors have detained a Bucharest gendarme on charges of abusive conduct after a French transgender woman alleged she was physically assaulted and subjected to transphobic insults while in custody at a police station during a visit to the Romanian capital in June.
According to the Military Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Military Tribunal, the 34-year-old French citizen was allegedly assaulted on the night of June 6 by a senior non-commissioned officer of the Bucharest Gendarmerie while he was on duty. Prosecutors said the woman suffered injuries requiring two to three days of medical care and was also subjected to insulting remarks, with investigators concluding that the alleged offence was motivated by sexual orientation.
However, the Bucharest Military Tribunal rejected the prosecutors' request to place the gendarme in pre-trial detention, and he was subsequently released, according to court records.
LGBTQIA+ rights group ACCEPT said the case marks the first time in Romania that allegations of abuse by a law enforcement officer against an LGBTQIA+ person have advanced to the stage of a criminal investigation.
According to ACCEPT, the victim, a French transgender content creator known as Bellehaze, came to Bucharest earlier this year to attend an event. The organisation said she later reported being drugged and sexually assaulted - which prompted her to act in self-defence, after which she was taken into custody. She alleges that, while at the police station, she was beaten and subjected to transphobic abuse.
'Beyond what happened to me, I am concerned about what this kind of abuse means for trans people and their safety. We face so much violence that it is painful and frightening to know that we can also become victims of those who are supposed to protect us. All I want is for us to feel that our lives matter. Far too many trans women have suffered irreparable trauma or lost their lives while waiting to receive the protection they needed,' Bellehaze said in a statement released by ACCEPT.
The investigation is ongoing. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Eusebi Manolache; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)
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