Mali: France has a "proof of life" of the hostage Sophie Pétronin, according to his relatives

France has recent and "reliable" proof of life from Sophie Pétronin, the French humanitarian worker kidnapped in Mali and held hostage since December 24, 2016, reported in a press release on Tuesday his relatives, including his son, received last week at Quai d'Orsay. Questioned by AFP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.

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According to this press release sent by the humanitarian nephew, originally from Bordeaux and kidnapped in Gao (northern Mali) by armed men, "the French authorities via the Quai d'Orsay crisis cell have summoned" his son Sébastien Chadaud- Pétronin last week "to tell him important news". "The French state has reliable proof of Sophie's life as of the beginning of March," wrote the relatives, who said, however, that they did not have "details or material elements to further appreciate this news."

"Good news"

"It is the first time that the Quai d'Orsay has informed us of the existence of proof of Sophie's life in such an official manner," Sophie Petronin's nephew, Lionel Granouillac, told AFP. that relatives were going to ask for "clarifications". "Sébastien is established in the Swiss Jura and we were surprised that in full confinement, he was told to come to the Quai d'Orsay, without specifying the reason for the summons", "It is in any case good news that we hope to herald very very good news".

For relatives, the "expectation always remains the same: '' Let's free Sophie ''". "She is sick, but we know from our information that she is receiving treatment," said the nephew. the humanitarian's husband, Jean-Pierre Pétronin, deplored the silence surrounding the fate of his wife, a humanitarian doctor in his seventies, saying he had the feeling that she had been "forgotten". "We don't know if she's alive. We haven't had any news at all for a year, ”he lamented on the third anniversary of his captivity.

The last video in which Sophie Pétronin appeared was received in mid-June 2018. She seemed very tired there, her face emaciated, and appealed to Emmanuel Macron. In another video in November 2018, where she did not appear, her captors claimed that her state of health had deteriorated.