Nexus - 1204 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Loic's report showed conclusively that Pierre Chanal, a French soldier, was a serial killer and the prime suspect for the murder of Trevor and other lone males. Loic was unable to say how many people Chanal had killed, although he had his suspicions that it could have been as many as fifty. The French authorities had been strangely ambivalent about indicting Chanal, or proving his relationship to a whole series of killings, charging him with only minor offences relating to the abduction of a young man that the police had found impris- oned but alive when they arrested Chanal. Chanal was impris- oned without a full hearing into the killing of which he was suspected. The approach of the French authorities did not of course do justice to the relatives of Chanal's murder victims. It did, however, keep secret the bungling, ineptitude and obfusca- As a consequence of the independent investigations of the newly appointed judge and the campaigning of Loic and Trevor O'Keeffe's family, Chanal was finally due to be arraigned for trial in October 2003 in Reims. With the date set for the Chanal trial, the authorities requested Loic return to France and attend. DISPOSING OF CHANAL When Loic was requested to appear before the court of Appeal in France on 16th October as an expert witness, he began negotiating so that he could give his evidence without fear of being arrested. It was finally agreed that he could give his evidence via a video conference. However, Loic need not have wrestled too violently with the problem of how he might tion of the French police and the Ministry of the Interior, all of whom were concerned about the image of the armed forces. During 1998 and 1999, Loic and Consequently, Eroline began campaigning for the government and full disclosure of evidence in the case of Trevor O'Keeffe. Around services were Wo the same time, Loic pushed ahead with his case against the French ensure that the government which his lawyer had actually too been preparing to take before the European Court of Human Rights since 1997. In 1995, the year that Loic left France and seven years after the arrest of Chanal, a new judge had taken over Chanal's case and ordered, for the first time, forensic tests which had previously been denied both Loic and the lawyers acting for the family. In January 1999, a DNA analysis of hairs found by Loic almost ten years earlier in Chanal's car revealed that he was definitely the murderer of at least two young hitchhikers. A new inde- pendent forensic report also came to the same conclusion as Loic's—that the soil on the spade found in Chanal's car when he was arrested was the same as that found at the site where Trevor O'Keeffe had been buried. 5 —= give evidence, for although his attendance in France would have caused Loic problems, they would have been nothing compared to the the French problems his attendance would have their secret caused the French State. Consequently, the French govern- rking hard to ment and their secret services were t ial working hard to ensure that the trial ral never never actually took place. k place. Concerned that Loic's appearance before the court of Appeal would give him new stature in the eyes of the French public, on 23rd August elements within the judiciary and the Ministry of the Interior issued an international arrest warrant against him. With the help of some Irish newspapers which conspired to publish his personal address in Ireland, the French authorities were hoping at least for an arrest and at most for something serious to happen to Loic. Following the revelation of his address Loic began to receive death threats. On 2nd October 2003, the European Court of Human Rights, which Loic had been preparing to petition for almost four years, informed his lawyers that his petition against the French State was unacceptable. The "independent" court ruled that their decision was definitive; that no more of Loic's letters would be answered and that his dossier would be destroyed. Loic was still preparing for his "day in a court" when on the night of 14th October ——e 2003 (the day before his trial), Chanal — apparently committed suicide in his cell. Cs) Until he died, Chanal was said to be — ——__ under the continued surveillance of three } Wi police officers and given a medical obser- — vation every fifteen minutes. ee In the first week of October, prior to the trial, Loic had travelled from Ireland to Switzerland where he was preparing to set up a research laboratory. He was not in hiding or on the run, but using his own name, together with a legal French passport which he had now been ae _ — = —s ZZ ff granted. Four weeks after Chanal died and the "Organic silican has really boosted my health risk of Le Ribault giving evidence had but there are one or two side effects." been deflected, at 8.25 a.m. on 21st November, acting in accordance with the As a consequence of the independent investigations of the newly appointed judge and the campaigning of Loic and Trevor O'Keeffe's family, Chanal was finally due to be arraigned for trial in October 2003 in Reims. With the date set for the Chanal trial, the authorities requested Loic return to France and attend. Consequently, the French government and their secret ae ae services were working hard to ensure that the trial never “Organic silican has really boosted my health but there are one or two side effects." 20 = NEXUS JUNE — JULY 2005 actually took place. www.nexusmagazine.com