The trip to Japan of the investigating judge in charge of the investigation into Tiphaine Véron, a French tourist whose disappearance in 2018 in the archipelago has never been elucidated, is "
essential
", claimed her family during a rally on Saturday in Poitiers.
Read alsoDisappearance of Tiphaine Véron: his family appeals to Macron before his visit to Poitiers
Gathered with around forty people in front of the judicial court of Poitiers, the city of origin of the disappeared, the family implored the magistrate to reconsider her recent refusal to go to Japan to deepen the investigation with the authorities on the spot, noted an AFP correspondent.
"
This refusal resonates for us as an abandonment of Tiphaine to her fate
," said Anne Désert, the mother of Tiphaine Véron, reading an open letter addressed to the examining magistrate.
“
Please don't Tiphaine remain an enigma forever.
(...) We moved heaven and earth for Tiphaine but we do not have your power.
The rest of the investigation rests on your shoulders
,” the letter continues.
Tiphaine Véron disappeared on July 29, 2018 in Nikko, a tourist city in northeastern Japan surrounded by hills and woods with famous sanctuaries.
Then aged 36, the young woman, epileptic, had left her hotel to go for a walk, leaving behind her suitcase and passport.
For nearly four years, the research carried out by his relatives on the spot, have yielded nothing, no more than the judicial inquiries carried out from Poitiers and in Japan.
According to Anne Désert, the family, in full "
desperation
" currently, has "
still legal levers
" and wishes "
at all costs
" to convince the judge "
that his trip is essential to find Tiphaine
".
The refusal of this request by the civil parties, which is also supported by the prosecution, was confirmed on December 8, 2021 by the investigating chamber of the Poitiers court of appeal, explained to an AFP correspondent, the public prosecutor of Poitiers Cyril Lacombe.
"
It is now up to the investigating judge to receive the civil parties if she deems it necessary
", according to Mr. Lacombe.
Read alsoTwo years ago, Tiphaine Véron disappeared in Japan
In this case, the family of Tiphaine Véron deplores that the criminal hypothesis has "
never been truly explored
" by Japanese investigators.