Du Plantier murder probe ‘must go on’

A campaign group seeking justice for murder victim Sophie Toscan du Plantier has called for continued cooperation between French and Irish authorities.

At a press conference in Cork over the weekend, members of the Association for the Truth about the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier (Assoph) issued the call for mutual co-operation which they said was “key” to knowing the truth.

Ms Toscan du Plantier’s parents Georges, aged 88, and Marguerite Bouniol, aged 86, were expected to attend the conference but cancelled due to ill health.

In a stark letter, Mrs Bouniol attributed her ill health to the unsolved mystery of her daughter’s murder 17 years ago.

“Myself as Sophie’s mother can’t wait any longer. My health problem is related to this, to the long time it took to reach the point where we are at today: The starting point,” she wrote.

“We, the family, have been suffering a double penalty for almost 18 years. Sophie was murdered and we, the plaintiffs, are mute in Ireland.

“We never had the opportunity to make our case and now we are the victims of serious malfunctions from police and judicial Irish systems,” Ms Bouniol wrote in her letter, which was read out by Sophie’s uncle Jean Pierre Gazeau, deputy president of Assoph.

Appealing for continued co-operation between the Garda and French investigative authorities, Assoph president Jean-Antoine Bloc-Daude outlined the group’s intention to petition the EU “in due time” requesting “Ireland to respect its commitments”.

“Ireland has tried its best but we are witnessing problems arising that we are not responsible for. We are watching what’s going on,” he said. “Our case is being treated like a fiasco.

“After 17 years, we see no result. We don’t understand why there is a blockage.”

The 39-year-old French filmmaker and mother of one was murdered yards from her holiday home in Toormore, Schull, Co Cork, two days before Christmas 1996.

Mr Bloc-Daude warned that any suspension of mutual assistance by Ireland would be “a catastrophe”.

He said he thought the French investigation into the murder, led by Judge Patrick Gachon, was likely to be completed by the end of 2014, at which point a file will be sent to the French equivalent of the DPP.

Mr Bloc-Daude pleaded for Ireland to help Judge Gachon finish his investigation.

The call for continued cooperation comes amidst the threat of a High Court injunction against the Government brought by former freelance journalist Ian Bailey unless the Department of Justice agrees to suspend all co-operation with the French.

Mr Bailey was twice arrested for questioning in connection with the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier but was never charged in relation to the killing and has always denied any involvement in her death.

Mr Bailey is currently taking legal action against the State for wrongful arrest, and claims he was set up for the filmmaker’s murder.