Almost a month after the murder of 19-year-old Philippine in the Bois de Boulogne near Paris, the main suspect, a Moroccan living illegally in France, is still in Switzerland, where he has just refused extradition to France. The proceedings could drag on for many more months.
A few days after the death of the young woman, the suspect, Taha O., a 22-year-old Moroccan already convicted of rape and facing deportation at the time of the killing, was arrested in Switzerland at Geneva station, where he was on the run. He was to be extradited to stand trial in France.
France filed a simplified extradition request on October 9th, i.e., 15 days after the events; the maximum deadline being 18 days—a delay considered shocking by many, since it risked the early release of the suspect by the Swiss authorities.
On October 16th, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice informed the French judicial authorities that the suspect was refusing simplified extradition. Taha O.’s refusal of this procedure does not mean that the extradition has failed, but simply that it must now take the ordinary route, which could take more than a year, according to the Swiss authorities. In the meantime, Taha O. remains incarcerated in Switzerland until the end of the procedure.
Philippine’s murder caused a stir in France, due to the circumstances of the crime and the suspect’s background. The man had already been convicted of rape in 2019, had been imprisoned and released early, and was also under OQTF (obligation to leave French territory). He had not undergone any of the checks to which he was supposed to be subject. At the time of the crime, he had just been added to the national list of wanted people.
His profile made him a symbol of the failings of the French justice system. The twists and turns in his extradition are likely to heighten the anger felt by many French people about the inability of the justice system to deal effectively with guilty parties over the long term.
Responding to the public outcry, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he wanted to reform “the legal arsenal” in favour of “zero tolerance.”
