French rugby players released from house arrest in Argentina

(13 Aug 2024)
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Mendoza, Argentina - 12 August 2024
1. STILLS: Various of French rugby players Oscar Jegou, right, and Hugo Auradou released from house arrest pending trial
2. House where the rugby players were under house arrest
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Germán Hnatow, defense lawyer:
"We are satisfied with this. Three prosecutors from different hierarchies analyzed all the files and ordered their freedom because there is insufficient merit to maintain the state of detention."
4. STILL: French rugby players Oscar Jegou, right, and Hugo Auradou released from house arrest pending trial
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Germán Hnatow, defense lawyer:
"We are not entirely satisfied with the decision that they cannot leave the country yet because, for us, that is not absolute freedom. Their life roots are more than 12,000 kilometers from here: their work and families. We understand that this is a coercive measure to keep them here."
6. Various of the house
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Germán Hnatow, defense lawyer:
"Of course, they are happy with this situation. They feel free. As I said, the first time I had to speak, they knew they were innocent from the first day, and that's why they were calm. Today, they remain calm and hopeful that this will end soon."
8. Corner street near the detention house
STORYLINE:
Two professional French rugby players were released from house arrest in Argentina on Monday but must remain in the country while they await trial on charges of aggravated sexual assault after an Argentine court order.
The court decision in Argentina’s western city of Mendoza, where the alleged assault occurred, marked a temporary victory for the two national team players, Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, who were arrested in early July after a woman filed a complaint accusing them of repeatedly raping her.
The 21-year-old athletes deny the allegations and maintain their innocence.
The chilling account provided last month by the 39-year-old Argentine woman has rattled the French rugby world and prompted a media firestorm in Argentina.
In a court document seen by The Associated Press, deputy criminal prosecutor Gonzalo Nazar said that the severity of the alleged crimes initially obliged the players' preventive detention. But that changed, he said, as the case appeared to weaken.
Justifying the release of the detainees, Nazar cites “notable contradictions, inconsistencies, gray areas and even insufficient explanations," in the woman’s testimony.
He deemed as "questionable" the evidence presented before the court, including a light-hearted voice message that the victim had with her friend the day that she reported the incident to police in which she joked about the sexual violence she experienced.
The standard of evidence “necessary for the public prosecutor to request preventive detention of the accused has not been met," Nazar wrote in the court decision.
The athletes have admitted to having sex with the plaintiff - whom they met at a nightclub after winning a match against the Argentine Pumas in Mendoza - but insisted that the encounter was consensual.
After being arrested in Buenos Aires while their teammates continued their regional tour in Uruguay, Auradou and Jegou were moved to house arrest in Mendoza, where they have remained with ankle monitors for the past month.
Although freed from house arrest in Mendoza, the defendants still face restrictions as they await trial in the coming weeks, the court said.
Video by Romina Viola and Mariana Villa
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