Before the Supreme Court of Seychelles, where he is “formally charged” with the murder of his companion, Thomas Debatisse will incur life imprisonment. The trial of this street artist from Nice known by the nickname “Otom” and imprisoned since May 5, 2021 more than 7,200 km from his home is scheduled for February 3. On the spot, things are preparing and “work is underway to form a jury”, indicated this Tuesday morning the court to 20 minutes.
However, in France, justice has filed a new report “contradicting, at this stage, the initial conclusions of the investigation carried out locally”. And she wants to continue to conduct her own investigations. But the public prosecutor of Nice announces to 20 Minutes “having received no response from the Seychelles judicial authorities” to whom he notably asked, almost three months ago, to be able to go there.
“We have always executed their own inquiries very quickly”
The “request for international criminal assistance that we sent to them on October 26, 2021 and which included, among other things, the request to carry out numerous acts of investigation locally in the presence of the Nice public prosecutor’s office and an investigator from the PJ of Nice” thus remained a dead letter, according to the magistrate. And this silence “surprises” Xavier Bonhomme “because we have always carried out their own requests for investigations very quickly”, he says, “in particular by receiving one of their investigators and by calling on our French expert laboratories, on their request “.
Solicited by 20 minutes, the Attorney General of Seychelles did not immediately respond. Also contacted, Dominique Mas, the French ambassador to the Seychelles confirms however that his services have “transmitted” to the local justice “the request sent by the Nice prosecutor”.
“All the elements plead in favor of a hanging and not a strangulation”
According to the authorities of this Indian Ocean archipelago, Emmanuelle Badibanga, found hanged on the evening of April 27, 2021, in the room she shared with Thomas Debatisse at Club Med on the island of Sainte-Anne, would have been a victim violence and strangulation. And the 35-year-old from Nice was “formally charged” for feminicide.
But the conclusions between the Seychelles and France diverge. The thesis of suicide is considered in France, especially since the 32-year-old Varoise “was a priori rather depressed”, according to testimonies collected by the investigators. And the additional expertise requested by the Nice prosecutor’s office would confirm its first analyses. According to a new report, filed on December 14 “and established by two experts, professors of medicine and medical examiners”, “there is no argument in favor of a sexual assault and all the elements plead in favor of complete or incomplete hanging and not strangulation,” explains Xavier Bonhomme.
“Proof of his absolute innocence”
The analysis of the testimonies and video surveillance of Club Med would also be one of the keys, according to the defense of Thomas Debatisse. “The file offers us proof of his absolute innocence”, assures Me Richard Sedillot, his lawyer. As the trial approaches, the Niçois would remain combative even if “it’s very hard for him”. “We are prosecuting him for having killed the woman he was madly in love with,” explains the council, which “salutes the great dignity of Emmanuelle Badibanga’s family”. “But like any innocent, Thomas Debatisse wants everything to be done to bring out the truth,” he said.
While awaiting the trial, “the friends and supporters” of the street artist have decided to organize a “charity exhibition-sale” to “help him finance his defense and prepare for his return, which the whole collective wishes to be imminent” . It must take place this weekend, from Friday to Saturday, at 43 rue du Docteur Richelmi, in Nice.