France laments Mexican ruling
March 22, 2012
Mexico's high court on Wednesday rejected an appeal for the release of a Frenchwoman held in a Mexican jail for more than six years for kidnapping and other crimes.
Three out of five high court judges voted against Judge Arturo Zaldivar's proposal to release Cassez, in a case that has strained bilateral relations.
Cassez and her defense team argue that her rights were violated when she was arrested in 2005, in a case that critics say typifies miscarriages of justice in the country.
"France takes note of the Mexican Supreme Court's deliberations. We strongly regret that they mean that Florence Cassez will be kept in prison after six years in detention," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in a statement. "We strongly hope that the Supreme Court will very soon establish the truth and free Florence Cassez."
A panel voted 3-2 against her being freed, although four of them said the case needed to be reviewed, with a new judge set to be appointed.
Arrest reconstruction was staged
Mexican police have admitted since the arrest that a televised raid in which officers appeared to rescue the hostages and detain Cassez had been staged. In fact, Cassez had been arrested the day before, outside the ranch.
Zaldivar suggested that Cassez should be set free based on the reconstruction discrepancies and other irregularities. He also said police did not give Cassez access to the French consul within the required timefame.
The case has focused debate between Mexicans who say it reveals an abuse of the criminal justice system - where televised arrests and confessions are relatively commonplace - and those who say Cassez is guilty and her crimes should not go unpunished.
In 2011, Mexico withdrew from the "Year of Mexico" cultural festival in France to protest against French President Nicolas Sarkozy's declaration that he would dedicate the event to Cassez.
rc/pfd (AFP, AP, Reuters)