the prosecution requests a dismissal of the case for the two French rugby players accused of aggravated rape in Argentina – Libération

The public prosecutor’s office in the Argentine city of Mendoza requested this Friday a “dismissal of proceedings” in the case of alleged rape of a 39-year-old young woman by two French rugby players, Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou. The hearing which will examine this request is set for October 18.

Towards the end of the affair? The spokesperson for the court in Mendoza (west) declared this Friday that the prosecution had requested a dismissal of charges for Auradou and Jegou. “The defense requested the dismissal of the case before the prosecution, and the prosecution supports this dismissal of the case and requests a hearing with the judge”said Martin Ahumada. The dismissal will be examined during a closed hearing set for October 18 by the judge in charge of the case, he said, and the decision should be reserved.

One of the Argentinian lawyers of the two young French rugby players, Me Rafael Cuneo Libarona, declared himself “satisfied” of the position of the parquet. He believes that this matter must “alert about cases of abusive denunciations against innocent people”. “If in my office we defend many women who are sexually assaulted, I nevertheless believe that the role of justice was to protect these two men in the face of these false accusations”he added. In France, Me Antoine Vey greeted “a decision in line with all the elements that were collected, verified and discussed throughout the investigation.” “We calmly await the end of this procedure,” added the lawyer for the two players in a statement sent to AFP.

The prosecution’s request for dismissal comes after the validation at the end of September of a final procedural act, a report of psychiatric and psychological assessments of the complainant carried out by experts mandated by the prosecution itself which appeared to weaken the position of the accusation. He revealed “a series of inconsistencies and contradictions […] which overall paint an unlikely story”. The two practitioners who co-authored the expertise note “contradictory and inconsistent content when explaining situations with which it is confronted”. The expertise also undermines the spontaneity of the complainant, revealing a “permeability to what others say”and “narrative neither free nor spontaneous […] and tinged with obvious external influences, notably from her friend. with whom she had a conversation shortly after the events “laughing” par messages audios.

“The initial accusation has lost its force”

Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, both aged 21, are still charged in Argentina with aggravated rape committed in a meeting for alleged acts that occurred on the night of July 6 to 7 in a hotel room in Mendoza, where they were coming to win a match against Argentina for their first selection with the XV of France. The players have maintained from the start that the sexual relations with the complainant, met in a nightclub, were consensual. And they deny any violence, while the plaintiff’s lawyer mentioned “terrible violence”, who saw his client “savagely beaten”. First detained then placed under house arrest, they were released in mid-August, then authorized to leave Argentina pending the end of the investigation, the prosecution believing “that the initial accusation has lost its force”. They returned to France on September 4.

Hugo Auradou, son of former international David Auradou, returned to the Pau training center five days later and resumed collective training in mid-September. The second row of Pau will also return to the rugby fields on Saturday in the Top 14 in Perpignan for the 5th day, almost three months to the day after this accusation of rape. “The day has come to put him on a rugby field and it will be tomorrow (Saturday)”announced Friday the manager of the Pau Section, Sébastien Piqueronies. “He will start the meeting,” he said in a pre-match press conference. “Nothing prohibits him from playing rugby, he is presumed innocent. Today it is up to those who defend it and the management of the club to assume consistency as they have done from the start. Oscar Jegou resumed training last week with La Rochelle, where he plays in the third row position, but no date has yet been publicly mentioned for his return to competition. When asked, Me Céline Astolfe, lawyer for Oscar Jegou and Stade Rochelais, did not “wish to comment”.

The complainant, for her part, presented her sense of rights on Thursday before a legislative committee. “scorned” by the courts, after having requested in vain, through his lawyers, the recusal of the two prosecutors in charge of the investigation. Her psychological expertise in no way excludes that she “can experience emotional discomfort, experiencing what happened as traumatic”note the two experts. Nevertheless “in the strict sense”elle “does not present clinical symptoms of post-traumatic stress caused by what she denounces”.

Update : at 7:40 p.m. with more context.