Ninef Radjah

Ninef Radjah from Seyne-sur-Mer in southeastern France lost his left eye during a yellow vest protest on January 12, 2019 in Toulon, a port town in southern France. AFP interviewed him, with his lawyer Didier Caporossi, on February 7 in front of the Mayol stadium where he was injured. He claims he did not take part in the protest and was “just passing by”.

Why were you there?

Ninef Radjah spent the afternoon with friends in Toulon, a port town south east of Marseille. He told AFP he is not a yellow vest and did not take part in the protest. Around 6 o’clock, he was on Avenue de la Republique, a long road in the town centre which had been closed to traffic due to the protest, “a bottle in my hand, enjoying life”.

What happened?

The protest was over, it was getting dark and a few yellow vests were on the street. Ninef “didn’t feel concerned by the police presence”, his lawyer explained. “For no reason, the police started to charge,” Ninef said in a statement to his lawyer, Didier Caporossi. “He hesitated for a moment, not knowing what was going on,” when he was hit, Caporossi says. “I saw men in black charge, I dropped my bottle and ran after I felt something hit my head,” Ninef said.

What is your life like now?

Today, life is a battle “not to slip into depression”. “He suffers headaches and sleeps 17 hours a day,” say Ninef’s lawyer and witness Cynthia Cazorla.