The children of Philippe de Dieuleveult, a star animator who disappeared during an expedition on the Zaire river with six other people in 1985, declared in a press release to AFP on Wednesday to be "outraged"
by
the request for the reopening of the investigation presented. by their cousin.
A nephew of the host, Alexis de Dieuleveult, sent a request to the Paris court in early February to reopen the judicial investigation, opened in 1996 and closed by a dismissal in 2004 for insufficient charges.
He maintains that his uncle was the victim of a blunder covered up at the time by France.
Cousin's controversial move
Erwann, Tugdual and Anaïd de Dieuleveult, the host's three children, indicate in their press release that they are "
outraged by the steps
" of Alexis, "
outraged by the freedom he sometimes grants himself to speak on behalf of Philip's family
.
He "
has been acting for several years against our will and without keeping us informed of his steps
", they assure, saying "
opposed to a reopening of the investigation for personal reasons
".
“
This in no way means that we are not looking for the truth as to what may have happened on August 6, 1985 in Inga in Congo (ex-Zaire)
”, they specify.
Philippe, host of the television show "
La Chasse au Trésor
", and his six companions were found dead in 1985 in Zaire, during an Africa-Raft expedition.
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Alexis' father, Jean, filed a complaint in February 1995 for intentional homicide and revealed that Philippe de Dieuleveult had belonged to the foreign intelligence service (DGSE).
He then accused France of having covered the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, then president of Zaire.
No media coverage
"
We do not want to publicize this case in any way or go through the courts before having decisive elements, if there are any (...).
To date, we do not support any theory, be it drowning or blundering, nor any other more or less eccentric
, ”specify the children of the host.
They ask the media "
rigor and professionalism
" but also to respect their "
wish for tranquility
" in the treatment of this case.
A former Zairian secret service official, Okito Bene Bene, published a book in 1994, claiming to have witnessed the host's execution.
He is long dead.
In 2009, the Paris prosecutor's office had opened a preliminary investigation concerning a document published by the magazine XXI presented as a report of the hearing of Philippe de Dieuleveult by the Congolese services.
The Criminal Squad had concluded that it was a forgery.