The Mendoza public prosecutor’s office has recommended the return to France of Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jégou.
The Argentine prosecutor’s office in Mendoza has recommended the return to France of the two rugby players accused of rape for nearly two months, a measure however suspended pending the decision of a judge at a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office announced on Monday.
The parquet floor “authorized the exit from the country, so that they could travel to France”to Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, but their “concrete and effective” release remains linked to a hearing on Tuesday, and the decision of a magistrate of detentions and liberties, Martin Ahumada, spokesperson for the provincial justice system, told journalists.
The prosecutor “has authorized the departure from the country, but on the procedural level, we must wait for tomorrow’s hearing to make it concrete” or not, added Mr. Ahumada. This hearing, scheduled for Tuesday at 11:30 (14:30 GMT) at the Mendoza Judicial Center, must validate the results of psychological assessments, one of the last expected procedural acts.
If there is an extension of the expert reports – requested by the plaintiff’s lawyers – “We will see if they (the players) should be here or not. If there is no extension, the authorization to leave the country will be definitively granted”he explained.
The green light given by the prosecutor’s office for the players to leave is “accompanied by rules,” Ahumada said. “For example, they must report if summoned to the Argentine consulate in France, must establish a real and virtual address, and must report to Mendoza (1,000km from Buenos Aires) if requested.”
Auradou and Jegou, two 21-year-old internationals, are charged with aggravated gang rape. The alleged events occurred on the night of July 6-7 in a hotel room in Mendoza, where the French XV had just won a test match against Argentina.
Both players claim that the sexual relations with the complainant, a 39-year-old Argentinian, were consensual. And they deny any violence, while the complainant’s lawyer has mentioned “terrible violence”. Released three weeks ago, the two players recovered their passports and left Mendoza for Buenos Aires. On Friday, their lawyers had asked the courts to lift the ban on leaving the country.
In a turning point in the case on Monday, the plaintiff’s lawyers filed a request Monday to disqualify the prosecutors in charge of the investigation for, according to them, “mental violence and lack of objectivity.”
A specific hearing should examine this request for recusal on Monday, but it “does not affect the possible exit from the country” of the two players, stressed the spokesperson for the provincial justice system.
