Bailey goes to European Court of Justice

Ian Bailey has said he will now go to the European Court of Human Rights after the French supreme court threw out his legal challenge to efforts by French authorities to try him for the voluntary homicide of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

The decision by the five-judge panel at the Cour de Cassation had been expected on May 7 but Mr Bailey said that his French lawyer, Dominique Tricaud, had contacted him to say his legal challenge had been turned down.

Mr Bailey also said that if a trial were to proceed in France, where authorities want to try him in connection with the December 1996 death of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, he would consider the possibility “in principle” of providing evidence via video link, although he said he would need to discuss the idea with his legal team.