Lawyers representing the two French rugby players accused of raping a 39-year-old woman back in July have asked a court in Mendoza for the case to be dismissed.
Rafael Cúneo Libarona, a lawyer representing 21-year-old French national rugby team players Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jégou, confirmed a motion for dismissal had been filed and said the duo had travelled to Buenos Aires on a Tuesday afternoon flight.
The players, who remain under indictment and are banned from leaving Argentina, did not make any statements upon their arrival at Jorge Newbery airport in the nation’s capital.
Defence lawyers requested a motion for dismissal on Tuesday that would see the case closed before being sent to trial. They based their request on evidence gathered and the failure to file a new psychiatric report about the plaintiff.
“The motion for dismissal has been filed, now the decision is up to the courts. We will wait,” said Germán Hnatow, another defence lawyer, after leaving court in Mendoza.
Tuesday’s hearing was suspended after the plaintiff failed to turn up to a second consecutive hearing. Last Friday, she attempted suicide, her lawyer said this week.
She has yet to complete the psychiatric expert examination, which will now be performed on Friday, as the court has requested.
The defence considers that “the evidence gathered in the case file is conclusively” in favour of dismissal.
Yet procedure establishes that for it to be analysed, expert examinations must be completed first and then the judge must summon the parties to a hearing to issue their ruling.
“We are waiting for the court’s decision and, of course, filing our motions so this is over and done with,” said Hnatow.
The complainant “tried to take her own life” last Friday, said her lawyer Mauricio Cardello, who stated that “she is in quite an overwhelming emotional state."
Auradou and Jégou were arrested in Buenos Aires in July, two days after winning their first international caps against Argentina in a match staged in Mendoza.
They were charged with aggravated rape of a woman they had met in a bar after the match.
According to the complaint, the events took place on the night of July 6/7 at a hotel in Mendoza where the national team was staying.
The plaintiff says she was violently and repeatedly raped by the pair, who insist there was a consensual sexual encounter.
The sportsmen were released from detention to house arrest on July 17, then freed under supervision on August 12. They were banned from leaving the country, albeit with no restrictions on moving around Argentina.
The players were also prohibited from getting in touch with the victim by any means.
– TIMES/AFP
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