Drowning of Jumaa al-Hasan: the police implicated
Published on
On the night of 2 to 3 March 2024, Jumaa al-Hasan, a 27-year-old Syrian in exile, drowned in Gravelines (Nord) while trying to board a boat to cross the Channel. Drawing on survivors’ accounts and a 3D reconstruction, Index’s investigation reveals the French police’s responsibility for his death.
- Incident date
- Location
- Gravelines (France)
- Victim(s)
- Jumaa al-Hasan (27 y.o.)
- Consequence(s)
- Death
- Force(s) involved
- National Police, Border police
- Theme(s)
On the evening of 2 March 2024, Jumaa al-Hasan, a 27-year-old Syrian in exile, drowned in Gravelines, in the Nord department, while trying to reach the United Kingdom. For more than a year, together with the research group Liminal and journalists from the OnTheMove collective, Index investigated the circumstances of the drowning. On the other side of the Channel, the investigation team tracked down several witnesses who that evening saw Jumaa al-Hasan drown before their eyes. Their accounts, cross-checked against other information and official documents, made it possible to reconstruct the sequence of events in a digital 3D model.
This reconstruction points to the police’s responsibility for the young man’s death, and to the failure of the rescue workers at the scene to assist a person in danger.
Jumaa al-Hasan’s body was found by a passer-by two weeks later. A judicial inquiry is under way. To date, none of the officers present on the night of the drowning has been questioned by investigators.