A CAMPAIGN group set up by relatives and friends of murdered French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier has welcomed the decision by a French magistrate to issue a European Arrest Warrant for English journalist, Ian Bailey.
The Association for the Truth about the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier was established in December 2007 to campaign for an investigation by French authorities into the murder of the 39-year-old mother of one in west Cork.
The group’s vice-president, Jean Antoine Bloc, yesterday welcomed the decision by French magistrate Judge Patrick Gachon to issue a warrant for Mr Bailey.
Mr Bloc said the association had learned from a Reuters report that Mr Gachon issued the warrant on foot of contradictions between Mr Bailey’s testimony at his libel action and that of witnesses who also testified before the hearing.
According to Mr Bloc’s statement, Judge Gachon is reported as seeking clarification of the contradictions between Mr Bailey’s testimony and those of other witnesses and they hope that he will be challenged on those issues in a way that has not happened to date in Ireland.
“So, finally boosted by French justice, the investigation now crossed another milestone, demonstrating the commitment of the French judiciary system 14 years after the particularly violent crime,” said the group in its statement. “After this new step, the association expects great strides [to] be made on the way to the truth,” said the statement, adding that since its establishment, the association has campaigned at the highest political levels in both France and Ireland in tandem with victim rights groups.
Ms Toscan du Plantier’s badly beaten body was found at the entrance to her holiday home at Toormore, near Schull, on the morning of December 23rd, 1996. A postmortem revealed she died from severe head injuries. Mr Bailey was arrested by gardaí for questioning about the murder in February 1997 and January 1998 but was released without charge on each occasion. He has consistently protested his innocence.