DNA will clear official in India rape case: lawyer
Lawyers for a French consular official in southern India accused of raping his three-year-old daughter said
Saturday DNA samples prove his client was innocent of any crime.
"There is no criminal evidence against our client," said Clemence Witt, a prominent France-based lawyer who is part of the defence team for Pascal Mazurier.
"All the DNA evidence shows extremely clearly that he has not committed any crime," Witt told AFP on a visit to Bangalore where Mazurier was based.
"We are now waiting for a decision on our discharge application," she said in an interview, adding: "We have faith in Indian justice."
A initial police report last July showed DNA found on the child did not match that of Mazurier, his lawyers said in a statement.
The lawyers also said a final police report showed DNA samples given by his wife, Suja Jones Mazurier, to investigators to support her accusations did not match those of the child.
Both sides have publicly discussed contested evidence which would normally be regarded as sub judice.
There was no immediate comment Saturday from his wife, who also has two boys aged eight and two.
But her lawyers have previously alleged intimidation of doctors who testified the girl was raped and suggested evidence may have been tampered.
The mother and women's rights groups have also accused France of supporting the husband at the expense of the interests of the alleged victim and her two siblings, who are all French nationals.
France's foreign ministry has declined to comment on whether it is paying the husband's legal bills.
Mazurier, who was arrested in June 2012 on a complaint filed by his wife, spent four months last year in jail before being bailed.
Bangalore's Family Court has rejected a request for Mazurier to have access to his children as he is charged with raping one of them.
The case was supposed to be heard by a fast-track court but the judge has been transferred and a new judge now must be appointed, Witt said.
Comments
See Also
"There is no criminal evidence against our client," said Clemence Witt, a prominent France-based lawyer who is part of the defence team for Pascal Mazurier.
"All the DNA evidence shows extremely clearly that he has not committed any crime," Witt told AFP on a visit to Bangalore where Mazurier was based.
"We are now waiting for a decision on our discharge application," she said in an interview, adding: "We have faith in Indian justice."
A initial police report last July showed DNA found on the child did not match that of Mazurier, his lawyers said in a statement.
The lawyers also said a final police report showed DNA samples given by his wife, Suja Jones Mazurier, to investigators to support her accusations did not match those of the child.
Both sides have publicly discussed contested evidence which would normally be regarded as sub judice.
There was no immediate comment Saturday from his wife, who also has two boys aged eight and two.
But her lawyers have previously alleged intimidation of doctors who testified the girl was raped and suggested evidence may have been tampered.
The mother and women's rights groups have also accused France of supporting the husband at the expense of the interests of the alleged victim and her two siblings, who are all French nationals.
France's foreign ministry has declined to comment on whether it is paying the husband's legal bills.
Mazurier, who was arrested in June 2012 on a complaint filed by his wife, spent four months last year in jail before being bailed.
Bangalore's Family Court has rejected a request for Mazurier to have access to his children as he is charged with raping one of them.
The case was supposed to be heard by a fast-track court but the judge has been transferred and a new judge now must be appointed, Witt said.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.