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CRIME

Slain French couple’s kin to appeal Bolivia ruling

The families of a French couple who disappeared in Bolivia are to appeal the acquittal of three alleged accomplices to the man jailed for 30 years for his murder.

Published: 1 March 2014 08:35 CET
Slain French couple's kin to appeal Bolivia ruling
Parents of the missing Fannie Blancho. Photo: Aizar Raldes/AFP

Tourists Jeremie Bellanger, 25, and Fannie Blancho, 23, went missing in August 2010 while traveling in a village in northern Bolivia, part of a months-long dream holiday in South America.

The couple's bodies have never been found.

Their parents were present on Thursday when a Bolivian court sentenced Jaime Martinez to 30 years in jail without the possibility of parole for the murders.

Martinez, 31, the son of a wealthy dairy farmer, was convicted of being the ringleader of a group of four that killed the couple after sexually assaulting the woman.

The other three accused, who include Martinez's father, were acquitted by the court in the northern city of Trinidad.

Patrick Bellanger, the father of Jeremie, told AFP by telephone from Trinidad that he was satisfied with the Martinez verdict, but added: "We are not happy with the decision for the other accused and intend to appeal."

Bellanger, who along with other family members fought for more than three years to see justice done, said: "It has been a real nightmare. It was very hard, especially for my wife, my sister and me too.

"It is important to see the culprits punished."

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CRIME

Two girls wounded in knife attack outside French school

An assailant on Thursday wounded two girls aged 6 and 11 in a knife attack close to their school in the east of France and was later arrested, officials said.

Published: 18 April 2024 16:33 CEST
Two girls wounded in knife attack outside French school

The 11-year-old was stabbed outside the school in the town of Souffelweyersheim, on the outskirts of Strasbourg, while the six-year-old was attacked by the same man nearby.

Both received superficial wounds, police said, adding the attacker did not appear to have any known links to radicals and was not previously known to the security services.

Both received superficial wounds, police said, adding the attacker did not appear to have any known links to radicals and was not previously known to the security services.

Both girls are being treated in a paediatric hospital. Parents were later in the afternoon allowed to pick up their children, who had been confined to the school in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

The attacker, born in 1995, was arrested in the area where he attacked the second girl, the police said. He no longer had the knife in his hand and did not resist arrest, it added.

The attack came as Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced a series of measures aimed at cracking down on violence committed by schoolchildren against their peers. There was no indication so far that the attacker had a link with the school.

“I’m really scared. We’ve been reassured that the children are safe inside, but we don’t know when we’ll be able to get them back,” Sarah, a mother of an eight-year-old pupil, told AFP before the green light was given to collect the children.

“A friend called me. She saw the commotion in front of the school as she passed by. Her reflex was to call me so that I could pick up my son.”

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