Sarah Everard assassination in the UK: the police officer appeals her life sentence

The affair had upset the United Kingdom at the beginning of the year.

The British policeman sentenced to life in prison for murdering Londoner Sarah Everard appealed his conviction on Wednesday.

"An application" to appeal the sentence has been filed, said a spokesperson for the Court of Appeal.

Wayne Couzens, 48, had used his police card to arrest the 33-year-old who was walking home on the evening of March 3 in south London.

This police officer, in charge of patrolling around diplomatic premises, accused her of violating the rules on confinement, handcuffed her, made her get into her car, before raping her, strangling her and then setting her body on fire. in a wood an hour and a half south-east of London.

Read alsoDisappearance of Sarah Everard: in the United Kingdom, women exasperated by insecurity in the street

The man was sentenced on September 30 to life imprisonment, without the possibility of release, an exceptional decision in the UK outside of terrorism cases.

In rendering his verdict, Judge Adrian Fulford had underlined “the abuse of the role of police officer” in this murder “in particularly brutal circumstances”.

The case had caused considerable stir in the UK and prompted many women to speak out about their feeling of insecurity.

In the wake of #MeToo, hundreds of testimonials were posted under the hashtag #ReclaimTheNight (or #ReclaimTheStreet, “Reprends la rue”, in French) on social networks.

Several gatherings were also organized in tribute to Sarah Everard, in particular in Clapham, London, where she had been seen before her disappearance.