the prosecution requested prison sentences against the six defendants, including Mathias Pogba – Libération

Firm prison requested to punish a “violent action” and “continuous pressure”. This Wednesday, December 4, on the sixth day of the trial for extortion, kidnapping, sequestration and criminal association brought by the former midfielder of the French football team Paul Pogba, the prosecution requested firm prison sentences against the six defendants, all relatives of the plaintiff, who grew up with him in the Renardière district, in Roissy-en-Brie (Seine-et-Marne). They are notably accused of having staged a robbery against the footballer, on the night of March 19 to March 20, 2022, to extract thirteen million euros from him. Even the older brother of the winner of the 2018 World Cup, Mathias Pogba, also implicated in this case but prosecuted for less serious offenses, is the target of a prison order.

In court, the two prosecutors noted the “precautions” taken by the defendants (such as communicating via Signal secure messaging or deleting certain messages) and the “extremely sustained exchanges” between them before “violent aggression” from March 19. Evidence, according to the prosecution, of the premeditated nature of the attack suffered by the footballer, suspended for doping since September 2023. “On the morning of March 19, everything is ready, everything has been carefully prepared […]. The versions of the accused [selon lesquels ils sont eux-mêmes victimes du braquage] do not hold. From the moment they carefully prepared the sequestration, they are also its actors”they declared.

“Mathias is not passive”

Among the defendants, it is against Roushdane K., 39, that the prosecution’s requisition is the heaviest: eight years of incarceration. Considered as the “big brother” from the Renardière district, he is the only one to appear in pre-trial detention, behind his glass box, and also the one with the heaviest criminal record (he already has convictions for attempted murder and complicity in kidnapping). According to prosecutors, he is “the conductor” of the blackmail exerted against Paul Pogba. Concerning Adama C., Boubacar C., Machikour K. and Mamadou M., the other defendants, the prosecution requested sentences of five years in prison, respectively accompanied by suspended sentences of one year, two years, three years and ten -eight months. He did not bring the charge of kidnapping against any of the defendants, considering that it was not substantiated.

Against Mathias Pogba, who was not present on the evening of March 19, 2022 and is therefore not targeted by the prosecution for kidnapping and sequestration, the prosecution requested three years in prison, two of which were suspended, and the possibility a sentence adjustment for the last year. The 34-year-old man, himself a former professional player, only enters the case in July 2022, accused of various “pressures” direct and indirect exercised on his younger brother.

“The criminal project is already built when Mathias Pogba joins it. Her place is special, she is part of the extortion project without his knowledge at the start. However, he knew that the group’s goal was to take the thirteen million euros from Paul, that there was a desire to do harm. Mathias is not passive, he takes initiatives”argued the prosecutors. The day before, the person concerned had admitted during his interrogation to having committed “a million mistakes” that he “regret” now, starting with these threatening videos against his brother published on social networks in August 2022.

“Visceral shock”

Carine Piccio, Paul Pogba’s lawyer, described for her part, Tuesday evening, “a chain of tragic events” powered by the “feeling of envy, frustration and resentment” defendants. “The goose that lays the golden eggs no longer lays”she summarized, in reference to the interruption of financial support from which the footballer’s childhood friends had long benefited. The lawyer noted the “trauma” and the “visceral shock” suffered by his client: “That the people closest to him are the face of this story is scary for him. [Après la soirée du 19 mars 2022]he will go into survival mode. What will predominate for him is psychological pressure. He was betrayed.”

Under this “moral harm”she demanded a sum of 50,000 euros. She also claimed nearly 200,000 euros for various «dons» and purchases made on Paul Pogba’s account after the facts, against all the defendants except Mathias Pogba, who it is established did not receive money from his brother during this period. The trial will end on Thursday with final arguments from defense lawyers.