LONDON: The Franco-Algerian businessman arrested in Britain as part of a probe into France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy claimed on Monday he was a “victim” of French magistrates at his extradition hearing in London.
Alexandre Djouhri is a key figure in the investigation into the alleged Libyan financing of Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign.
Speaking to AFP outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Djouhri said: “I’m a grandfather, I’m a father and they deny me the right to exist, and that’s incredible.”
“It’s not French justice, it’s two magistrates who have made a forgery in writing, and I have absolute proof,” he said, naming two French prosecutors.
After several postponements, the extradition hearing began at 1000 GMT with the French state’s presentation. The court’s decision is expected on Thursday.
Djouhri said he expected judge Vanessa Baraitser to “deliver justice,” claiming he was “not a fugitive.”
The 59-year-old businessman was summoned several times by the French courts and arrested at London Heathrow Airport in January 2018 on a European arrest warrant.
French investigators are examining his alleged involvement in the 2009 sale of a villa in the French Alps for around 10 million euros.
A Libyan investment fund managed by ex-chief of staff Bashir Saleh of Libya’s deposed leader Muammar Qaddafi bought the property at a “very inflated” price, and Djouhri is suspected of being its true owner, a source close to the inquiry has told AFP.
Djouhri was released on bail on health grounds in February after suffering from heart problems.
He underwent surgery earlier this year, a source close to the case previously told AFP.
Djouhri in September called the arrest warrant “fraudulent.”
The businessman must adhere to bail conditions which mean he must stay in his home from 2:00 am to 6:00 am and report to a police station between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 pm.
He must also remain within the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the neighboring City of Westminster district.
Djouhri’s lawyer Mark Summers said the bail conditions were “extremely onerous.”
Frenchman linked to Sarkozy probe faces UK extradition hearing
Frenchman linked to Sarkozy probe faces UK extradition hearing
- The 59-year-old businessman was summoned several times by the French courts and arrested at London Heathrow Airport in January 2018 on a European arrest warrant
Ireland’s defense gaps exposed as EU presidency nears
- Militarily neutral Ireland is not a NATO member, yet its waters — seven times its landmass — account for around 16 percent of the EU’s total
THE CURRAGH: Sheep amble around steel fences skirting Ireland’s largest military base on a grassy plain west of Dublin, a bucolic scene masking an underfunded defense force struggling with outdated equipment.
Ireland’s threadbare military and its long-standing policy of neutrality are under heightened scrutiny as the country prepares to assume the rotating EU presidency from July.
“Ireland is the only EU country with no primary radar system, nor have we sonar or anti-drone detection equipment — let alone the ability to disable drones,” said former Irish special forces member Cathal Berry.
“We can’t even monitor the airspace over our capital city and main airport,” he said as he surveyed Ireland’s main military base at The Curragh.
Militarily neutral Ireland is not a NATO member, yet its waters — seven times its landmass — account for around 16 percent of the EU’s total.
Nearly three-quarters of transatlantic subsea cables run close to or beneath them.
But the Irish army numbers only a few thousand troops, is focused largely on UN peacekeeping missions and has neither a combat air force nor a sizeable navy.
Ireland’s annual defense spending of roughly €1.2 billion is the lowest in Europe at around 0.2 percent of the GDP, well below the EU average of 1.3.
“Neutrality itself is actually a fine policy. If you want to have it, it must be defended,” said retired Irish army colonel Dorcha Lee.
“That’s the whole point. Undefended neutrality is absolutely definitely not the way to go.”
Berry points to a long-standing “complacency” about defense in Ireland that has fueled a vacuum in debate over neutrality and military spending.
“If you wanted to squeeze the EU without any risk of NATO retaliation, Ireland is where you’d come,” he said, adding that also applied to US interests in Europe.
US tech giants like Google, Apple and Meta have their European headquarters in Ireland, supported by vast data centers that analysts say are vulnerable to cyberattacks.
European Council President Antonio Costa said he was still “confident” Ireland could protect EU summits during its presidency.
Defense Minister Helen McEntee has pledged that new counter-drone technology will be in place by then.
Speaking in front of a row of aging army vehicles at the Curragh military site, she also announced a broader increase in military spending, although the actual details remain unclear.
On Dec. 17, the Irish government said it plans to buy a military radar system from France at a reported cost of between €300 and €500 million (around $350-$585 million).
For Paul Murphy, a left-wing opposition member of parliament, “scaremongering over allegedly Russian drones with concrete evidence still unprovided” is
giving the government cover to steer Ireland away from neutrality toward NATO.
“But it’s more important than ever that we’re genuinely neutral in a world that is increasingly dangerous,” he told AFP.
Ireland has historically prioritized economic and social spending over defense investment, he said.
“Joining an arms race that Ireland cannot compete in would waste money that should be spent on real priorities like climate change,” he added.
Pro-neutrality sentiment still holds sway among the Irish public, with an Irish Times/Ipsos poll earlier this year finding 63 percent of voters remained in favor of it.
And very few voices in Ireland are calling to join NATO.
Left-winger Catherine Connolly, who won Ireland’s presidential election in October by a landslide, is seen as a pacifist.
“I will be a voice for peace, a voice that builds on our policy of neutrality,” she said in her victory speech.
