The release of judo coach Alain Schmitt of domestic violence against Olympic champion Margaux Pinot provoked the outrage of stars of French judo on Wednesday, December 1, when the prosecution appealed the decision.
Believing “Not having enough proof of guilt” of violence by the former member of the French judo team on his companion this weekend in Seine-Saint-Denis, the Bobigny correctional court released Alain Schmitt during an immediate appearance hearing which did not ‘is only completed in the middle of the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
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At the trial, the public prosecutor denounced “Very serious violence, even for a first-time offender”, on the part of Alain Schmitt, and requested against him a one-year suspended sentence. A few hours after the release, the Bobigny prosecutor’s office announced to AFP to appeal.
A wave of support for Margaux Pinot
In response, the Israeli Judo Federation suspended all contact with French judo coach Alain Schmitt, the Federation spokesperson told AFP.
His appointment was announced by the Israel Judo Federation on November 15, its president Moshe Ponti having welcomed the arrival of a “Excellent coach who will contribute to the national team”.
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For his part, the president of the French Judo Federation Stéphane Nomis, told AFP on Wednesday that he had been “ stunned “ by the release of the judo trainer Alain Schmitt of acts of domestic violence on the Olympic champion Margaux Pinot. “We did not understand and we were stunned, we took a knockout by the decision”, he added.
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In a message of support to her colleague in the French team, the female star of French judo Clarisse Agbégnénou said “Shocked” by the court decision.
“I do not have the words to express everything that is going on in my head and my body as a woman in the face of what my teammate Margaux Pinot has undergone”, tweeted the flag bearer of the French delegation at the Tokyo Olympics.
“We are all deeply touched by what our teammate Margaux Pinot has just suffered”, added a few minutes later the triple Olympic champion Teddy Riner.
Calls for help
Alain Schmitt, 38, was arrested in a state of intoxication on the night of Saturday to Sunday at Blanc-Mesnil a few hours before his scheduled departure for Israel, where he is expected to take the reins of the women’s national team.
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Margaux Pinot accuses her companion and ex-trainer within the Etoile Sportive du Blanc-Mesnil club of having beaten her, pulled her hair but also of having tried to strangle her during an altercation in the apartment. of the young woman of 27 years.
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Her calls for help alerted some neighbors, where she found refuge before the police arrived around 2:30 am. Suffering from bruises and a broken nose, she was prescribed ten days of ITT.
Contradictory versions
On Wednesday afternoon, the gold medalist in Tokyo with the France team, in the new mixed team event, spoke for the first time on social networks since the start of the case to express her indignation .
“What is their slanderous defense worth against my injuries, and the blood strewn on the floor of my apartment?” What was missing? Death at the end, perhaps? “, she rebelled by posting a photo of her swollen face, which seems to have been taken shortly after the fact.
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“It was probably judo that saved me”, she added. Tuesday’s hearing in Bobigny had been marked by contradictory versions.
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Also presenting a bruised face, Alain Schmitt denied ” 100 % “ the facts with which he was accused. At the bar, he denied having dealt the slightest blow to his companion, instead describing a fight between lovers as a “Tornado”, based on judo holds and triggered by Margaux Pinot. “It was not a judo fight, it was punches”, protested the judokate at the bar.
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Contacted by AFP, Alain Schmitt’s lawyer, Caroline Wassermann, said that her client welcomes ” serenity “ the appeal of the prosecution. “This does not mean that the decision of the court (of appeal) will not be similar to the decision of the first instance”, she warned.
The individual record of Margaux Pinot, who fought in two categories (-63 and -70 kg), notably includes a world bronze medal in 2019, two titles of European champion (2019 and 2020) and two silver medals continental (2017, 2021).
