The prosecutor gives permission for their exit from Argentina, the accused requests the intervention of the prosecutor – Libération

2024-09-02 17:52:15

Sexual violencedossier

The prosecutor’s lawyers asked this Monday before the Argentine courts for the dismissal of the prosecutors responsible for the rape investigation against Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou. In words: their supposed “lack of objectivity”.

The plaintiff’s lawyers filed this Monday, September 1, a request for “meet the challenge» of the prosecutors responsible for the rape investigation targeting Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, two players of the French rugby union team arrested on July 9 in Argentina. Their request, made in the judicial center of Mendoza, in the west of the country, comes as a decision on the order for two men who are 21 years old to leave the South American country in a hopefully soon. The demand for renunciation is justified, in the view of its authors, by “lack of objectivity» accused two prosecutors, Dario Nora and Daniela Chaler.

The prosecutorjudge instead of research“, accused the lawyers in their argument. Appearing to expect a decision worth the exit from Argentina for two players, they are angry that the athletes “will be rewarded with permission to return to their country […] return to their normal way of life, while the plaintiff suffers irreparable harm following the facts stated.“. The argument mentions in particular the suicide attempt of the accused, ten days ago, and the fact that he remains in the hospital until today. Allowing the players to leave Argentina at this stage will represent “an institutional scandal not seen before», insisted the lawyers, especially as the final procedural documents, especially scientific ones, are still to be approved.

And in fact, immediately after the filing of this request, the office of the public prosecutor Mendoza announced that it “give them permission to leave the country, so they can travel to France” to Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou. But their exit “Concrete and effective” It is connected to the hearing on Tuesday, and the decision of the judge of detainees and freedoms, Martin Ahumada, spokesman for regional justice, told the press.

“Intellectual delay”, according to the defense

Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou were accused of aggravated rape because they were in a meeting and are awaiting the trial of a request to cancel the case. They are free but under judicial supervision. The alleged events took place on the night of July 6 to 7 in a hotel room in Mendoza, where the French XV won a test match against Argentina. The two actors said that sexual relations with the accuser, a 39-year-old Argentine, were consensual. And they denied any violence, when the plaintiff’s attorney mentioned “terrible violence» exercise on them this week. A hearing was scheduled for Thursday to consider the possibility of leaving the country.

It was not immediately clear what effect the request for extradition – which will have to be assessed by the courts – will have on the deadline for a decision on the return of Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou to France. No date has been set for the hearing to examine the request for dismissal, filed last Tuesday by the players’ lawyers, confirming that the state of prosecution has been reduced in recent weeks. On Monday, the French lawyer for the players, Me Antoine Vey, objected to the request for the resignation “yet another logical delay, [qui] does not change the level of files». «We are still waiting for the players to return to France in the coming hours“, he added.