Former French hostage Sophie Pétronin, 76 years old and released in October 2020, has returned to Mali since March 2021.
Sophie Pétronin, the 76-year-old former French hostage in Mali, has been living in Bamako for nearly eight months, according to information gathered by BFMTV.
According to our information, she returned to Mali in March 2021 accompanied by her son. Sophie Pétronin used the pretext of going on vacation to Africa, to Senegal, to then go by bus, by road to Mali, while the authorities in Bamako had refused to issue her a visa. She therefore returned to Mali illegally.
One of the reasons given to explain her return would be that she absolutely wanted to find her adopted daughter who remained in Mali, Zeinabou after her return to France.
The former hostage was released on October 8, 2020. His return to Paris after three years and nine months had sparked a heated debate, some 200 jihadists having been released shortly after by the Malian government. The French authorities have refused since Friday any comment on the information concerning his return to Mali.
>> More information to come on BFMTV.com …