The Argentine prosecutor’s office has recommended that two French rugby players charged with rape be allowed to leave the country. If the judge gives the green light on Tuesday, they could be back in France as early as Wednesday.
This Monday, the Mendoza prosecutor’s office “authorized the exit from the country, so that they can travel to France”, of Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, but their exit “concrete and effective” remains linked to a hearing this Tuesday and to the decision of a magistrate of detentions and liberties, indicated to the press Martin Ahumada, spokesman for the provincial justice.
“Procedurally, we have to wait for the hearing” scheduled for today at 11:30 local time (3:30 p.m. in France) at the Mendoza Judicial Center. This hearing must validate the results of psychological assessments, the last expected investigative 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 permission to leave the country will be definitely granted”explained Mr. Ahumada. The players could then return to France on the first direct flight and potentially be there as early as Wednesday morning.
The two 21-year-old internationals remain charged with aggravated rape because they were gang raped. 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.
The players claim that the sexual relations with the plaintiff, a 39-year-old Argentinian woman they met in a nightclub, were consensual. And they deny any violence, while the plaintiff’s lawyer has raised the issue “terrible violence”.
A return “with rules”
The last few weeks have marked a significant shift in the case. The players, who spent around ten days in detention at the beginning of July and were then placed under house arrest, were released on 12 August by the prosecution. The latter had then stressed “notorious contradictions, inconsistencies, gray areas” in the complainant’s version.
The two French internationals, who have since recovered their passports, left Mendoza for Buenos Aires last Tuesday. The same day, their lawyers filed a formal request for dismissal of the case and, on Friday, they asked the courts to let them leave Argentina.
The green light given by the prosecution to return to France is “with rules”Mr. Ahumada said on Monday. The players must in particular “to present themselves if summoned to the Argentine consulate in France, to establish a real and virtual address”or even “to report to Mendoza (1,000 kilometers from Buenos Aires) if requested”.
Furthermore, no date has yet been set for an examination of the request for dismissal, but this could take place within a few days according to AFP.
