Saturday, April 12 2008 15:47
Open Letter to Mary McAleese, President of Ireland
ASSOCIATION FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MURDER OF SOPHIE TOSCAN DU PLANTIER née BOUNIOL
ASSOPH,
boite 06, 18bis rue Popincourt,
75011 Paris
assoph0793@orange.fr This address is protected against spammers robots, you must enable Javascript to be able to visualise it; http://www.assoph.org/.
April 9, 2008
Dear Madam President,
We would like to draw your attention to a desperate case of denial of justice which has been going on for 11 years.
Sophie Toscan du Plantier, née Bouniol, a French citizen, was savagely murdered on the night of December 22nd-23rd at Dunmanus West, Goleen, Co. Cork. The inquest and criminal investigation were conducted according to Irish law.
For eleven years, Sophie’s family have been refused access to the criminal investigation files in Ireland. In France, access to such files is a legal right for civil plaintiffs. Police co-operation between France and Ireland has been negligible, not to say non-existent. Several formal international requests (« Commissions rogatoires ») sent by French magistrates have been ignored by Ireland. All investigations appear to have stopped. For eleven years, the truth has not been known and the murder has remained unpunished. Sophie’s parents, her son and relatives are suffering deeply because of this denial of justice.
In the attached document, written by Marie-Victoire Louis, you will find the chronology of the case and a list of essential outstanding questions.
We request your help in achieving justice for Sophie’s family. We ask that they benefit from guarantees comparable to those afforded by the French criminal justice system, that is to say that they be informed about all essential elements of the inquest. We want their rights in the search for truth to be fully acknowledged and respected in Ireland, as well as in France.
We fear the differences between the French and Irish jurisdictions have been an obstacle to the development of the judicial inquiry. Therefore, we request your support for effective co-operation between the French and Irish criminal justice authorities in the investigation into Sophie’s murder.
With deep respect, in the hope that you will be able to help with Sophie’s case,
Jean PierreGazeau
Professor at the University Paris Diderot Paris 7
President of the ASSOPH
