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CRIME

Briton gets 30 years for French jogger’s murder

A British man was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a French court on Friday for the horrific 2013 murder of a young mother out jogging.

Published: 29 April 2017 10:14 CEST
Briton gets 30 years for French jogger's murder
A police vehicle arriving on April 27th at the Nîmes court house before the trial of British national Robert Plant. Photo: Sylvain Thomas/AFP
The court in the southern city of Nîmes also ruled that 36-year-old Robert Plant should not be eligible for parole for 20 years.
 
Plant was formally charged in 2013 for the murder of 34-year-old Jouda Zammit, whose partially clothed body was found on January 24 of that year. She went missing after going jogging.
 
Her throat had been slit and her body and face disfigured with stones and a cutter.
 
Plant lived with his mother just yards from where the woman's body was found.
 
Nimes prosecutor Stephane Bertrand had sought a life term for Plant, dismissing arguments that he “had lost contact with reality” on the day of the murder.
 
Plant had been described by neighbours as “peaceful” but Bertrand described him as a “pervert” and “not a madman” who had “committed a particularly brutal crime.”
 
The victim had three children who are now aged 14, 11 and seven.

CRIME

Teen held in France over ‘die a martyr’ Olympics messages

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in France after he allegedly said on social media he wanted to make an explosive belt and die a martyr at the Paris Olympics this summer, officials said.

Published: 25 April 2024 13:02 CEST
Teen held in France over 'die a martyr' Olympics messages

The teenager from the department of Haute-Savoie in southeastern France was arrested on Tuesday, said the anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office, adding a probe had been launched on Wednesday.

The teenager was arrested “following his statements on social media announcing his intention to make an explosive belt with a view to dying a martyr,” the anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office said.

During a search of his parents’ home, handwritten papers were discovered in which the teen had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, a police source said.

According to the same source, the teenager admitted to having planned to commit a “terrorist act” using a gun or explosive belt at La Défense, the business district west of the capital that is also home to an arena hosting swimming and water polo competitions during the Games.

The anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office said work was under way to determine the teen’s exact intentions.

The DGSI, France’s domestic intelligence agency, is conducting an investigation.

France is hosting the Olympic Games in Paris from July 26th to August 11th, with security during the event a major concern.

In March the government raised its terror alert to the highest level.

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