Word: prieur
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...bombings. But to some New Zealanders, this latest bout of terrorism is ironic. Was it not the French government that committed its own terrorist bombing against the Greenpeace ship in New Zealand last year? France strongly lobbied for the release of two of its terrorists, Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, just as the Arab extremists are now campaigning for the release of their comrades. Chris Aimer Dunedin, New Zealand Aquino's Road Show...
...heavily guarded brick-and-stone courthouse in Auckland was jammed with journalists, lawyers and policemen. At 10:31 a.m., Judge Ronald Gilbert entered the chamber, followed moments later by Defendants Dominique Prieur, 36, and Alain Mafart, 35. For the two French intelligence agents, the long-awaited preliminary inquiry was finally under way. At issue: whether the pair would have to face trial for murder and arson in the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, the flagship of the Greenpeace environmental movement, in Auckland harbor last July...
Then, in a surprise move, New Zealand Solicitor-General Paul Neazor declared that the prosecution had agreed to reduce the charges against the French agents to manslaughter since the defendants had acted only "in support of those who actually placed the explosives." Prieur and Mafart then coolly pronounced their guilty pleas. The entire proceeding lasted 32 minutes. The couple, who had entered New Zealand last June 22 on false Swiss passports, will remain in custody until their scheduled sentencing...
...Zealand Prime Minister David Lange called Mafart's evacuation a "blatant and outrageous breach" of an agreement between the two countries. A New Zealand court had earlier sentenced Mafart and Dominique Prieur, the other convicted agent, to ten years in prison after they pleaded guilty to involvement in the bombing of the ship. The two were released into French custody on condition that they not return to mainland France for at least three years. French Premier Jacques Chirac claimed that the agreement had allowed an "automatic return to France" if either agent became...
...Zealand, meanwhile, two other DGSE agents face a preliminary hearing in November in connection with the sinking. Identified as Major Alain Mafart, 34, and Captain Dominique Prieur, 36, they were arrested shortly after the attack in Auckland harbor. The French government now acknowledges they were a support team for the frogmen who planted the hull-attached mines but argues that they should not be prosecuted since they were acting under orders. New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange, however, has ruled out any "deal" to exchange their freedom for French reparations. Denouncing the sabotage mission as "a sordid act of terrorism...