Madagascar: a year after the arrest of two French people for an attempted putsch, where is the procedure?
Here, lawyers arriving for the trial of Paul Rafanoharana and Philippe François, in the Apollo 21 case. in Antananarivo, December 16, 2021. © Laure Verneau / RFI
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2 mins
A full year after their muscular arrest on the night of July 21, Paul Rafanoharana and Philippe François are still in detention in the high security prison of Tsiafahy.
The two men, respectively Franco-Malagasy and French citizens accused of attempted coup and attempted assassination against the President of the Republic Andry Rajoelina, were found guilty by the Malagasy justice.
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With our correspondent in Madagascar,
Laure Verneau
Paul Rafanoharana and Philippe François are still in detention in Tsiafahy prison.
They receive visits from the French consulate twice a month, in accordance with the legal procedure.
The former
was named
as the main mastermind
of the plot
and was sentenced to 20 years hard labor.
The second was sentenced to ten years.
The two detainees and their lawyers await the hearing in the Court of Cassation.
And three scenarios are now possible.
If the court confirms the judgment, the two men remain in prison.
At this time, Philippe François can request by virtue of his French nationality a transfer of sentence to France.
But the court of cassation can also quash the judgment: without referral to the court, the two detainees will be released;
but in case of referral to court, the trial will start again.
The role of the Court of Cassation is to ensure that the law has been applied, because it does not deal with the merits of cases.
Searches without a warrant, volatilized exhibits, among others, are procedural defects that can be put on the table, indicates a source close to the defense.
According to two judicial sources, the hearing could be held in the coming days.
The daughter of Philippe François, Constance Wagner François has not seen him for three years due to health restrictions and then his incarceration in solitary confinement.
She hopes that the appeal in cassation demonstrates the procedural defects.
The daughter of Philippe François, Constance Wagner François hopes that the appeal in cassation demonstrates the procedural defects
Claire Fages
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Madagascar
Justice
France