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CRIME

Spanish mum kills teacher in front of class

The 34-year-old school teacher who was stabbed to death in front her students in France on Friday was killed by the Spanish mother of a pupil, Spanish press are reporting.

Published: 4 July 2014 16:18 CEST
Spanish mum kills teacher in front of class
A teacher in France was stabbed to death by the Spanish mother of a pupil on Friday. Photo: AFP

The alleged murderer was Moroccan-born but had Spanish nationality, according to Spanish diplomats in France.

Those same dipolomatic sources couldn't say whether the woman had another nationality, Spain's El País newspaper reported.

The mother, whose name was not released, attacked the teacher at the Edouard Herriot school in Albi around 9:10am, not long after the last day of school for the year had begun.

France's RTL radio said the mother tried to escape, but was detained 20 minutes later near the campus, which has some 284 pre-school and elementary students.

The mother, who was being held for questioning by police, allegedly screamed "I"m not a thief," before assaulting the teacher, Frances' BFMTV television station reported, adding the woman had previous psychiatric troubles

The mortally wounded teacher, who was stabbed in the abdomen, died around 11am, news agency AFP reported.  

France's President François Hollande described the killing as a "horrific tragedy" and pledged support for children and staff at the school.

For more details see The Local France's story here.

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CRIME

Dutch gang leader vanishes in Spain after accidental release

A top drug trafficker is on the run after accidentally being bailed from jail in Spain, officials said Tuesday, dodging a bid to extradite him to the Netherlands where his Mocro Maffia gang is based.

Published: 24 April 2024 09:23 CEST
Dutch gang leader vanishes in Spain after accidental release

Karim Bouyakhrichan was arrested in January in Marbella, an upmarket tourist resort on Spain’s southern coast, along with five other members of the Mocro Maffia gang.

They are suspected of having bought 172 properties in Spain worth over €50 million ($53.5 million) to launder their gains from drug trafficking.

But the following month a court in the southern city of Málaga decided to grant him provisional release with judicial supervision, against the wishes of public prosecutors and the Spanish government. Judicial sources said Tuesday his whereabouts are now unknown.

“It is worrying news,” Justice Félix Bolaños told a news conference following a weekly cabinet meeting when asked about the case.

“I can’t comment on any court decisions, but I do trust that the state security forces will bring this person to justice as soon as possible,” he added.

The Málaga court said in its ruling granting Bouyakhrichan provisional release that the risk that he would flee could be avoided “with other less burdensome security measures” than pre-trial detention.

It imposed bail of €50,000, took away his passport and ordered him to report to the authorities twice a month.

Dutch extradition bid

At the same time Spain’s top criminal court was processing a request for Bouyakhrichan’s extradition to the Netherlands, where he is wanted for large-scale drug trafficking.

But it postponed its extradition proceedings because the Málaga court intended to put Bouyakhrichan on trial first for money laundering, court sources told AFP.

When the Netherlands provided more information to back its extradition request, the top court summoned him to testify and when he failed to appear a fresh warrant for his arrest was issued.

Vincent Veenman, a spokesman at the Dutch public prosecutor’s office in The Hague, said it was “unknown” to them why Bouyakhrichan had not been detained for extradition.

“We are currently awaiting a decision on the extradition request,” he added.

“Our experience with the Spanish justice system is that this cooperation is generally good. Dozens of suspects are handed over every year.”

Bouyakhrichan’s brother Samir, another leading member of the Mocro Maffia, was murdered in 2014 near Marbella, sparking a reorganisation of organised crime groups in the region.

The Mocro Maffia made international headlines in 2022 after it emerged that Dutch Crown Princess Amalia had been placed under heavy protection in response to fears of an attack by the group.

Dutch media reported earlier last week that the 20-year-old heir to the Dutch throne studied in Madrid after being forced to ditch plans to live in student accommodation in Amsterdam because of the threats.

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