BOLIVIA/FILE: Family of murdered French tourists plead for justice in Bolivia on eve of trial

Record ID: 720813

  • Title: BOLIVIA/FILE: Family of murdered French tourists plead for justice in Bolivia on eve of trial
  • Date: 3rd May 2013
  • Summary: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (MAY 3, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BELLANGER AND BLANCHO WALKING IN LA PAZ (SOUNDBITE) (French) PATRICK BELLANGER, FATHER OF MISSING FRENCH TOURIST JEREMIE BELLANGER, SAYING: "It's been a tough ordeal because we had to battle for the past two years, battle to push the inquiry to go ahead, to get a prosecutor, to make the policemen to do the investigation, t
  • Embargoed: 18th May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Bolivia, Plurinational State Of
  • Country: Bolivia
  • Topics: International Relations,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA1X3KAJYOMBVH7D1627CM5LS5T
  • Story Text: The parents of two French tourists who disappeared in Bolivia nearly three years ago said they hope an upcoming criminal trial against four people accused in their deaths will finally get them the answers they have fought for since their children went missing.
    Jeremie Bellanger and Fannie Blancho, 25 and 23-years-old respectively at the time of their disappearance, are believed to have been murdered in the town of Guayaramerin in August, 2010.
    Patrick Bellanger and Cecile Blanloeil, Jeremie's parents; and Maryline Blancho and Jean-Paul, Fannie's mother and father, arrived in La Paz on Thursday (May 2) ahead of the start of the criminal proceedings on Monday (May 6).
    Patrick Bellanger and Maryline Blancho on Friday told Reuters they hope the four people accused in the deaths of their children will finally face justice as the long-awaited trial gets underway.
    "We hope that the truth will come out, that the accused confess. We want to know the truth. We also want the accused to get 30 years of prison which is the maximum sentence in Bolivia," Blancho said.
    The young couple arrived in the city of Guayaramerin in the far north of Bolivia along the Brazilian border as tourists.
    They disappeared sometime between the late hours of August 28 and the early morning hours of the following day in 2010.
    The prosecution argues Blancho was raped and murdered and Bellanger was then killed after he learned of his female companion's death.
    The families said they have been driving the investigation forward and hope the truth will soon be unveiled.
    "It's been a tough ordeal because we had to battle for the past two years, battle to push the inquiry to go ahead, to get a prosecutor, to make the policemen to do the investigation, to develop all the evidence and to finally detain the suspects and take them to court. It's been very difficult obviously on the economic side. Fortunately we have huge support in France from friends, the family..." Bellanger said.
    "We hope that this will come to an end and the truth will be discovered in the verdict. This is what we are fighting for, this is why we are in Bolivia to know the truth and to get Bolivian justice to punish the accused," Blancho added.
    Four people are accused in the case.
    The main suspect is Jaime Martinez, the owner of the property where police believe the crimes took place.
    Bellanger said the families tried to get the trial moved to La Paz or another city saying they were more likely to minimize outside influence on the proceedings if they were held further away from the community the accused call home.
    "We wanted the trial to be transferred to a court in a major city, at least to Trinidad or even to another city out of Beni State. But the trial has been settled to take place in Riberalta which is only 80 km from Guayaramerin where the crime was committed. The families of the accused are all around there. Some of the relatives live in Riberalta, others in Guayaramerin, barely one hour away. We know that there are enormous pressures actually, death threats on the prosecutor from relatives of the accused. The prosecutor has even asked to withdraw the case from her. We hope that she will keep the case all the same. At the same time we understand her fears because our lawyer will leave to La Paz, as he's a lawyer from La Paz,, and we also will go back to France at the end of the trial. But if the sentence is unfavourable for the accused the prosecutor and the judges will stay here and they could be victims of vengeance," Bellanger said.
    The bodies of the two victims have never been found and there is a reward for information leading to the recovery of their remains.
    The parents of both victims said they will stay in Riberalta until a verdict is reached which could be as long as two months or more.
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