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French ex-PM to appear before court over smear campaign
Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin "Nothing can justify this decision..." Villepin said, reacting to the order, in a statement received by AFP. "Throughout the investigation, the truth of the facts and the law have been diverted for the benefit of one civil party who is at the same time today President of the Republic (Sarkozy)," said Villepin. The order drawn up by judges Jean-Marie d'Huy and Henri Pons was signed on Tuesday evening requiring Villepin to appear before the court over alleged "complicity" in slander, the sources said. Villepin is suspected of helping to orchestrate a leak in 2004 of what turned out to be a faked list of account-holders at the Clearstream bank in Luxembourg which included Sarkozy's name. The named individuals were supposed to have benefited from illegal commissions from arms sales. At the time, Villepin and Sarkozy were rivals to succeed then president Jacques Chirac. Posted by: Fred 2008-11-19 |
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