Central African Republic allows health evacuation of Frenchman accused of spying: family
A former French soldier accused of spying in the Central African Republic was allowed to return to France for health reasons but still faces a Bangui trial, his family said Sunday.
A former French soldier accused of spying in the Central African Republic was allowed to return to France for health reasons but still faces a Bangui trial, his family said Sunday.
Juan Remy Quignolot, 57, spent 16 months in prison following his arrest in May 2021 before being released on bail in September, when prosecutors also cited health concerns.
His arrest was denounced as a "manipulation" by France, whose relations with its former colony have nose-dived since 2018 with the growing influence of Russia in the chronically unstable country, including the suspected arrival of paramilitaries from the Wagner group.
"We greeted him this morning at Charles de Gaulle airport" outside Paris, his sister Caroline Quignolot told AFP by telephone.
"He left Bangui on May 18 and travelled via Gabon," whose President Ali Bongo Ondimba was a "mediator" between Paris and Bangui, she said.
"He is very weak and needs to rest," she added.
After Quignolot's arrest, leaked photos began to circulate in the press and social media allegedly showing him with a stock of military weapons seized at his Bangui home.
He was charged with "espionage, illegal possession of military and hunting weapons, criminal association, harming domestic state security and conspiracy."
Aid workers said Quignolot had worked occasionally as a security guard for several organisations.
In a ruling seen by AFP dated June 17 by appeals court president Laurent Ouambita, doctors had confirmed "rapidly deteriorating health" had put his life at risk, without further details.
But Quignolot "will have to appear before the criminal court... as soon as his health improves."
If convicted, he faces a life sentence of hard labour.
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A former French soldier accused of spying in the Central African Republic was allowed to return to France for health reasons but still faces a Bangui trial, his family said Sunday.
Juan Remy Quignolot, 57, spent 16 months in prison following his arrest in May 2021 before being released on bail in September, when prosecutors also cited health concerns.
His arrest was denounced as a "manipulation" by France, whose relations with its former colony have nose-dived since 2018 with the growing influence of Russia in the chronically unstable country, including the suspected arrival of paramilitaries from the Wagner group.
"We greeted him this morning at Charles de Gaulle airport" outside Paris, his sister Caroline Quignolot told AFP by telephone.
"He left Bangui on May 18 and travelled via Gabon," whose President Ali Bongo Ondimba was a "mediator" between Paris and Bangui, she said.
"He is very weak and needs to rest," she added.
After Quignolot's arrest, leaked photos began to circulate in the press and social media allegedly showing him with a stock of military weapons seized at his Bangui home.
He was charged with "espionage, illegal possession of military and hunting weapons, criminal association, harming domestic state security and conspiracy."
Aid workers said Quignolot had worked occasionally as a security guard for several organisations.
In a ruling seen by AFP dated June 17 by appeals court president Laurent Ouambita, doctors had confirmed "rapidly deteriorating health" had put his life at risk, without further details.
But Quignolot "will have to appear before the criminal court... as soon as his health improves."
If convicted, he faces a life sentence of hard labour.
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