She avoided the worst.
While she theoretically faced life imprisonment, Louise (
the first name has been changed
), a 25-year-old Parisian, was sentenced on Tuesday to three years in prison by the Cairo Court of Appeal (Egypt).
The prosecution had requested 15 years in prison against this young woman suspected of being a mule.
His French and Egyptian lawyers, My Yassine Yakouti and Ossama Ebeid, obtained the requalification of the facts and the cancellation of several documents.
On November 8, Louise was arrested at Cairo airport in possession of 3 kg of MDMA, the active ingredient of ecstasy.
She assures that she was not aware of the contents of the goods she was transporting.
According to her, before her departure, she met a Franco-Egyptian in a café in the Barbès district (Paris 18th century).
He offers to carry a bag of powder for him for a fee of 2000 euros.
“She has the lightness to accept, confided to us last month Me Yassine Yakouti.
She is looking for a job in a precarious situation and she thinks that these are products intended for the bodybuilding community.
"She was in trouble, she had rent debts and she had just been struck off the job center," added one of his brothers.
Upon arrival at the airport, Louise's bag goes through customs.
The young woman, who was to deliver the package to an intermediary, was immediately arrested and transferred to a police station.
The drug was supposed to fuel the festive scene of the seaside resorts of the Red Sea.
Collaborating with the local authorities, Louise provides information which makes it possible to arrest the alleged sponsor who is also in Egypt.
“A fragile kid who was manipulated”
During a first hearing on April 2, his lawyers demanded the cancellation of his police custody reports, citing the absence of an interpreter.
They won their case on Tuesday.
“The court acquitted our client of the crimes of importing narcotics into an organized gang and participating in a criminal group.
She reclassified the facts as possession and introduction of a harmful substance, ”adds Me Yakouti.
His advice also obtained the cancellation of the weighing on the grounds that it had not been carried out with respect for the contradictory.
In the end, the procedure only involved 520 grams.
Incarcerated for six months, the young woman could serve her remaining sentence under house arrest.
“It's a relief for Louise and her family, welcomes Me Yakouti.
We are satisfied with this decision, which gave priority to the law over a botched police investigation.
The court upheld all of our defenses in accordance with legal principles.
We would like to thank the French Consulate in Cairo, which has been a real support, as well as the members of the French community who have massively mobilized for it.
Louise is just a fragile kid who has been manipulated and who needs to be able to get back to her life in Paris as soon as possible.
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