The two French people sentenced in Madagascar for an attempted coup and attempted assassination of the Malagasy head of state, represented by their lawyers, asked this Friday, July 22 for the cancellation of their conviction before the Court of Cassation of Antananarivo.
From our correspondent in Antananarivo,
Last December, Franco-Malagasy Paul Rafanoharana and Frenchman Philippe François received 20 years and 10 years of hard labor respectively. This Friday, their lawyers, who denounce a trial and investigations tainted with irregularities, exposed to the Court of Cassation procedural defects which they consider numerous.
► Read also: Madagascar: one year after the arrest of two French people for an attempted putsch, where are the proceedings?
Violation of the secrecy of the instruction, violation of the right to defence, insufficient access to the file or even erroneous translations… In an almost empty room and for nearly two hours, the pleadings of the defense lawyers follow one another. Master Solo Radson, lawyer for Franco-Malagasy Paul Rafanoharana insisted on evidence he considers unfair, in particular an audio recording presented during the trial as being a compromising conversation between his client, his wife and a third woman :
” This recording was transcribed by a bailiff. But the usher, not knowing Mr. Paul Rafanoharana, could not recognize his voice without having seen him, without having spoken to him. So it’s obvious. These are unfair proofs and provided by the administration. How to recognize a voice from someone you’ve never seen ? It’s made from scratch. I also asked why not have deposited this recording in the course of investigation ? There was plenty of time to file that piece during the investigation. »
“An unfair trial”, according to the defense
The defense is asking for the verdict rendered by the Ordinary Criminal Court of Antananarivo to be annulled last December, without dismissal of the trial, which would lead to the release of the detainees.
” I alluded in particular to the production of the exhibits which were not made during the preliminary investigation, not adversarial with my client and which was produced well after, during the trial, indicates Master Raymond Chan-Fah, the lawyer of the French Philippe François. So these are all procedural flaws that we have raised. What we hope, moreover, is that the Court will see all these defects and will be inclined to overturn the judgment that has been rendered. I insist a lot on the fact that this file is not contradictory, it is not fair. It was an unfair trial. But we are confident. We hope the judgment will be broken. »
The decision of the Court of Cassation is expected on August 26. If the Court overturns the judgment, without referral to the court, the two detainees are released. If sent back to court, a new trial will take place. The Court can also confirm the judgment and the two men then remain in prison. In this case, Philippe François can request a transfer of sentence in France.