At 76, Martine Landry, activist for Amnesty International and the National Association for Border Assistance for Foreigners (Anafé), was due to return to the courts on Wednesday 8 July. She was about to be retried for helping two Guinean migrants to enter France, an offense punishable by five years in prison and a 30,000 euro fine under article L622-1 of the Code of entry and stay of foreigners and asylum.
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But this Tuesday, July 7, thunderclap. According to our information, the public prosecutor's office of Aix-en-Provence announced in the morning to the parties that it was withdrawing. At the end of the morning, the public prosecutor's office confirmed its withdrawal from Le Figaro , without giving further details. Martine Landry's appeal trial will therefore not take place. One more twist in a business that already has several.
The facts that were previously blamed on the retired from the National Education date to July 28, 2017. That day, Martine Landry is at the border post of Menton. She is suspected of having "facilitated the entry" into French territory of two Guinean adolescents aged fifteen years. The retired national education would have "taken charge and convoy pedestally from the border post on the Italian side to the border post on the French side".
The case three times referred
On January 8, 2018, the septuagenarian appears before the Criminal Court of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes). At the start of the hearing, the public prosecutor's office requests that the file be returned in order to have time to carry out checks. On February 14, the prosecutor asked for a new referral, saying that she "did not have all the answers" . The trial is then scheduled for April 11. But due to a national strike by magistrates and lawyers, it did not take place until May 30.
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At the hearing, the prosecution "is obliged to note that the release of the activist is necessary" , according to Mireille Damiano, the defendant's lawyer, who obviously also demands this release. “There is no offense. Martine Landry welcomed these young people once they had crossed the border, but did not accompany them from Italy to France. She was behind the “France” sign ”. The decision of the criminal court is under advisement on July 13.
The day said, Martine Landry learns that she is relaxed. In its judgment, the court considers that "proof of the materiality of the crossing of the border" by the septuagenarian has "not been provided" . In a press release, Amnesty International and Anafé declared "to welcome with very great satisfaction" this decision, which constitutes "a real relief for [the activist] and her relatives" .
Read also: Relax for an Amnesty International official, tried for helping migrants
The associations denounced a “judicial obstinacy”
But the joy of Martine Landry and the two associations was only short-lived. To everyone's surprise, the Attorney General of Aix-en-Provence announced his intention to appeal. And this, although the Nice prosecutor's office requested release during the trial. Two years later, the retiree should therefore have been tried again on Wednesday. Support was provided by Amnesty International and Anafé, who denounced a “judicial obstinacy” against the septuagenarian.
The withdrawal of the public prosecutor's office in this "emblematic" case is excellent news for these associations, which have been fighting for years against the "crime of solidarity". An expression which has no legal existence but which is used to qualify the proceedings against persons providing support to foreigners in an irregular situation on French territory.
"Obviously, this dramatic development is above all a relief for Martine, who had for two years had a sword of Damocles over her head," reacts to Figaro Lola Schulmann, refugee and migrant advocacy officer at Amnesty International France. "It is a very beautiful victory which gives us the opportunity to recall that these people who help migrants do not have to end up in court. It is time that France genuinely puts an end to the 'crime of solidarity'. ”