Frenchman Rémy Quignolot detained in CAR for a year: "my brother is not a spy"
View of the Roux camp, in Bangui.
AFP PHOTO / SIA KAMBOU
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
The man is accused of espionage and incurs as such up to the death penalty (which is not applied in CAR but still exists).
His family and his lawyers denounce a procedure that is progressing in slow motion.
They claim that this former soldier is a "
judicial hostage
" of the diplomatic crisis between Paris and Bangui.
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On May 10, 2021, the images of his arrest made the rounds of the Central African web:
Rémy Quignolot
was presented handcuffed in front of an impressive arsenal.
For his relatives, the scene is a montage: he had four weapons in his possession, but all his equipment and the documents he had, maps, photos and videos, were strictly related to his activity in security, as several of his employers have certified to his lawyers.
Rémy Quignolot continues to denounce unfounded accusations.
Of the nine charges brought against him, six were dropped due to lack of evidence.
There remain those of illegal possession of weapons of war and hunting, and especially that of espionage.
The prosecutor has not yet decided whether to refer him to criminal court and no date has been announced for a trial.
Veteran
At the material time, this 50-year-old, a former soldier living in Bangui since 2013, regularly accompanied journalists from the Qatari television channel Al-Jazeera;
he has also worked for Minusca and several NGOs.
Since January, Rémy Quignolot has been sharing a 6m² cell with another detainee at the Roux camp.
He has lost a lot of weight, but remains combative despite fears for his health.
“
He has absolutely no access to essential medical care as he suffers from a vitamin B12 deficiency following partial removal of the intestine, indignant Me Louise Dumas, his lawyer in France.
In addition, there are cases of tuberculosis in the prison, not to mention Covid-19, all of which is quite worrying.
»
His sister, Caroline Quignolot, was also able to join him.
“
It's very difficult for him.
He has already explained to me that each passing day is hell.
We managed to get him to abandon his plans for a hunger strike.
We all understood very well that it is a montage and that he is not at all guilty of espionage.
My brother is not a spy, that's for sure.
This total fabrication cannot justify the threat of the death penalty and life imprisonment that we see repeated in the prosecution documents.
»
“Instrumentation” of justice
When he was arrested, France denounced an “
anti-French campaign guided by Russia
”.
Today, a high-ranking source in Paris believes that Rémy Quignolot is “
purely and simply a hostage
”.
Himself detained for a long time in Cameroon and now at the head of an association, Michel-Thierry Atangana calls for the release of Rémy Quignolot, who for him is "a toy" in the hands of the Central African authorities: "
Nothing in his career can justify his detention.
We can clearly see the instrumentalization of justice in the service of oppression.
Remy has no chance of being released in a fair trial process.
»
Michel-Thierry Atangana pleaded the cause of Rémy Quignolot on Monday before the Commission and the European Parliament.
His family notably wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron, and his defense seized the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention on April 13.
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Central African Republic
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