A war veteran who fought for his rights

Christian Prud’homme has passed away at his home in Alsace.

On Sunday 5 December 2010 he had used his cell-phone to make disturbing calls and texts alerting several people who were concerned about him that he was in despair. The gendarmes of Ribeauvillé broke into his flat on Monday 6 December and found him lying on his bed lifeless.

Despite the cold in that region in December, his flat in Riquewihr (Haut-Rhin) was not heated: the gas had been cut after several unpaid bills, though a plan was in place for a social worker to arrange for reconnection on Tuesday 7th, that is the following day.

Although the circumstances of Prud’homme’s death are not clearly established, a burial permit was issued. There was no inquiry or autopsy. He was cremated in Mulhouse crematorium, where his ashes are now.

Christian Prud’homme, formerly a professional soldier, had made many approaches to the Ministry of Defense asking for the army to acknowledge responsibility for several health problems that had appeared after his service notably in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where he had taken part in Operation Daguet for 6 months in 1990-91 during the first Gulf War. He even went on several hunger strikes, including one in 2005 lasting over 40 days. An invalid’s pension had been finally granted to him, and it had just been re-evaluated late in 2010, but he did not read the letter informing him of this.

We supported Christian Prud’homme during his 2005 hunger strike and we accompanied him into Ministry of Defense to help defend his case. On that same occasion we submitted to the Minister a petition of several thousand signatures
 asking France to abandon unconditionally all her depleted uranium weapons and to support a total ban on all radioactive weapons.

o February 2006:
Christian Prud’homme puts his life on the line again, so that justice will be done.

o September 2006:
Gulf War syndrome: at the Military Pensions Tribunal in Colmar.

o March 2006:
A victim of Gulf War Syndrome: a veteran’s new combat

We offer our sincere condolences to Christian’s family.

ACDN

AVIGOLFE