Twenty-seven years after the conviction of Omar Raddad for the murder of a rich widow, Ghislaine Marchal, the justice decided Thursday to reopen the case, the first step towards a possible revision of the trial, we learned from a source judicial.
Seized by Omar Raddad of a request for review, the investigating committee ordered additional information, said this source. ” This decision is a step towards revision Omar Raddad’s lawyer Sylvie Noachovitch told reporters. ” The battle is not over », She launched.
Designated by the inscription ” Omar killed me “, Traced with the blood of the victim at the scene of the crime, the former gardener had suffered a first rejection of a request for review in 2002.
Presidential pardon
His new petition, in one of France’s most enigmatic and controversial criminal cases, draws on advances in science in DNA and on a law passed in June 2014 which relaxes the criteria for obtaining a review of a trial.
Those are ” evidence casting doubt on Omar Raddad’s guilt », Had assured Me Noachovitch before rendering the decision.
Sentenced in 1994 to 18 years imprisonment, without the possibility of appealing at the time, Omar Raddad received a partial pardon from President Jacques Chirac, then a conditional release in 1998. This pardon does not constitute cancellation of the condemnation and do not make him innocent.
(With AFP)