Karachi attack: Two indictments quashed on appeal over prescription

In a ruling, a Paris appeals court on Wednesday (May 31) overturned charges against two former shipbuilding executives for manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter in an investigation into the 2002 attack in Karachi, Pakistan, sources told Agence France-Presse. He knows the issue.

This indictment was served by mail in June 2022 to Gerard C., site manager, and Alain Y., project manager for the Agosta 90B submarine contracts, who had previously been placed on the witness stand in the section. Regarding possible violations of the security of this judicial information.

On 8 May 2002, an explosion in Karachi on a bus carrying employees of the Direction des constructions navales internationales (DCNI) killed fifteen people, including eleven Frenchmen.

French justice is investigating two aspects in this case: the first relates to the supporters of the attack, and the second to possible deficiencies in the security of the employees on the ground. In this final section, the investigating judges considered, twenty years after the attack, that there were serious and/or consistent indications that the two former DCN executives had underestimated the dangers posed to the company’s employees.

cassation appeal

They were therefore charged with manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter by registered letter, paving the way for a possible trial. But the Investigative Chamber found that the public action had expired, effectively canceling the prosecution.

“For us, the solution is fair and obvious, because it obeys the precedent law of the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation.– told Agence France-Presse M^e Vincent Courcelle-Labrus, attorney for Gerard S. “What we can regret is that the investigating judges did not make this decision.”He added, also considering that behind the prescription, his client’s indictment appeared. “totally unjustified”.

“We will immediately appeal to the Court of Cassation”In turn, responded M^e Marie Doze, civil counsel in this case. “The prosecutor’s office, the prosecutor’s office, the civil parties and the investigating judge have always believed that an injunction could not be granted in this case. And that decision runs counter to increasingly restrictive case law on prescription.he added.