His wrongful arrest dates back four months but Guy Joao, confused with the presumed murderer Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes, is still very marked by this episode and intends to file a complaint, reports this Monday France Info, who met the 69-year-old retiree in his Pavilion of Limay, in the Yvelines. His lawyer is said to be working on a complaint he plans to file in Scotland in the coming weeks, the news site said.
Read also: Dupont de Ligonnès affair: Guy Joao recounts his trauma
On his way to Glasgow, Scotland, Guy Joao was arrested when he got off his plane on October 11, triggering a media tsunami. For 26 hours, this former Renault employee had answered questions from investigators, who, on the basis of English information, believed they were dealing with Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, suspected of having murdered his family in 2011 and whose whereabouts were never found the trace. For several hours, the information circulating about him was confused. Initially, several media claim that his fingerprints match those of the suspect, before retracting. It is ultimately a DNA test that will clear Guy Joao the day after the arrest, forcing all the media to reverse pedal.
To read also: Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès: in Limay, the crazy morning
A complaint against the French police?
At the beginning of January, the pensioner ends up testifying in the press and recounts the brutality of his arrest and his difficult conditions of interrogation. " You sleep on the ground, like a dog. Next door a woman was screaming all night. It's hard ... ", he said on M6. A month later, France info describes an emaciated man with drawn features. And the questions remain numerous: How did Guy Joao end up in this situation? Have the Scottish and French police made mistakes? The retiree also wants to understand what happened with their fingerprints and whether their report was treated in a " reasonable " manner. Another question torments Guy Joao: who denounced him? He does not know himself as an enemy. Several media have advanced the trail of an anonymous denunciation carried out on the British platform Crimestoppers.
Read also: Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès: chronicle of 20 hours of runaway, doubts and twists and turns
For the time being, it is difficult to shed light on the origin of this miscarriage of justice as the various protagonists in this case are passing the buck. According to a French police source quoted by France info, it is Europol, the European criminal police agency, which would have been informed by Scotland Yard, the London police. But both deny having been involved. Scottish police say it was " another British police force that alerted the French authorities ". In early January, Guy Joao met with the Scottish police who had arrested him. " There were no excuses ," he regrets. Just justifications ”.
The retiree, who lives between France and Scotland, does not rule out filing a complaint against the French police and certain media, still according to France Info. His lawyer awaits the conclusions of the investigation opened a few days after the arrest for "violation of the secrecy of the instruction" and entrusted to the IGPN, the police force.
