Frenchwoman freed from Mexico jail
Florence Cassez flies back to Paris after supreme court judges order her release from 60-year prison term for kidnapping
A WOMAN held in a Mexican jail for the past seven years for kidnapping is heading back to France after being freed by Mexico’s supreme court.
Florence Cassez had been jailed for 60 years in 2007 for being involved in a kidnap gang in Mexico City run by her boyfriend.
She had always claimed innocence and was freed due to a number of irregularities in her case.
Her jail sentence had led to a diplomatic stand-off between Mexico and France, with former president Nicolas Sarkozy arguing directly and heatedly with then-president Felipe Calderon.
It culminated in Mexico calling off a major Franco-Mexican cultural event in 2011 after Sarkozy dedicated it to Ms Cassez.
Ms Cassez flew back to Paris today after heading straight for an Air France jet at Mexico City’s airport once she was released. Reports that Sarkozy was to meet her at the airport were denied by his staff.
President Hollande telephoned her on Wednesday and said yesterday: "France thanks all those who, in Mexico as well as here at home, fought so that truth and justice would prevail."
He was later accused by Sarkozy’s interior minister, Claude Guéant, of ignoring his predecessor’s role in the release.
Photo: JeanLucRomero-Twitter
