The day after the death of the priest Olivier Maire in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (Vendée), the lawyer of the sole suspect says he is “obviously surprised” by the crime and the confessions of Emmanuel Abayisenga, Rwandan of 40 years , already prosecuted for the fire at Nantes cathedral in July 2020. “I am deeply shocked by the death of this admirable man. I couldn’t imagine that this could have happened. This is the whole question that will arise in the context of an investigation which will not fail to be opened subsequently, ”reacts Quentin Chabert.
If he explains that he is at this stage “not mandated” for the defense of Emmanuel Abayisenga concerning the crime, the lawyer reports maintaining “regular contacts” with his client since his indictment in connection with the fire. from the cathedral. The latter was hospitalized Monday afternoon due to psychiatric disorders making it impossible to keep him in police custody. He had already been treated in psychiatry in June. “It seems that he is in a complicated mental state which perhaps implies that at the time of his act he was not in his normal state”, comments Quentin Chabert.
“The conditions were met”
Incarcerated in pre-trial detention for ten months, the Rwandan defendant was released, under judicial supervision, in early June. He then resided within the religious community of the Missionaries of Montfort. This release, requested by his lawyer, now challenges given the mental fragility of the suspect. “I understand that the question may arise in the light of the drama, admits Quentin Chabert. But I’m not in the habit of filing for release without my belief. For me it is not abnormal that there is a release under judicial supervision. The conditions were met with regard to the code of criminal procedure. “
The request for release aimed, in particular, to alleviate the mental disorders of Emmanuel Abayisenga. “At the Nantes remand center there is a service that allows you to benefit from care. From there to saying that the French health system within the penitentiary establishment is efficient and allows it to function with significant results, this is a limit that I will not cross ”, indicates Quentin Chabert, specifying that the request for liberation “covered other aspects. “
Although “cooperative” with the justice system after the fire in the cathedral, the defendant felt “overwhelmed” by the scale of the event and was having trouble living in his detention. “You can imagine what it can be for a person in difficulty and who undergoes his first incarceration in France”, indicates Me Chabert.
Non-expulsion, a “sterile controversy”
As for the criticisms of the political class, Marine Le Pen in the lead, concerning the maintenance on French territory of the suspect while his asylum requests had been rejected, Emmanuel Abayisenga’s lawyer sees it as a “sterile controversy”. “I am surprised that Marine Le Pen glosses over that. She is still a lawyer, she has legal training, she has knowledge of this type of subject. It is therefore even more serious to use such a dramatic fact with full knowledge of the facts, even if I am not fooled by the political game. They would have been the first to come and cry out loud and clear that it would have been a scandal to have expelled this man to Rwanda and that he probably could not stand for trial for the facts of the fire in the cathedral. “
Gérald Darmanin explained Monday that the suspect could not be deported given his judicial review pending trial.