Compass World: Nobody Expects the French Extradition

Schull, Ireland, near where Sophie du Plantier was murdered in 1996. (Needpix)

This is not the first time Compass World has covered extradition. Last time we did so, it was to report on the French-Lebanese-Brazilian former-CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, who after his daring escape to Lebanon, was subject to an extradition request from Japan. The French government said at the time that “if Mr. Ghosn arrived in France, [we] will not extradite Mr. Ghosn because France never extradites its nationals.”

Today, Compass World is covering a Briton named Ian Bailey, who allegedly committed murder in Ireland and may be extradited to—not Ireland, actually. Thanks to a French legal quirk, he could be extradited to France if Ireland’s High Court chooses.

Schull-Shocked

Sophie Toscan du Plantier was a French television producer and the wife of famous French film producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier. Two days before Christmas in 1996, Sophie was beaten to death outside her holiday home near Schull, in County Cork, Ireland. Bailey, the first journalist on the scene of the crime, was identified as the prime suspect in the investigation; however, after two arrests and months of investigation by the police, he was never charged. Although Bailey remained at the forefront of Irish news, thanks to his 2004 libel case against newspapers over their coverage of the murder, it seemed to be the end of the story—until 24 years later. How was Bailey found guilty of the murder of Toscan du Plantier in a Parisian court, of all places?

Universal Laws

How can the French claim jurisdiction over a crime committed in Ireland by (allegedly) a Briton? Thank Napoleon, whose 1810 Penal Code allowed the French to prosecute criminals anywhere for the deaths of any French citizens. Although the Napoleonic Penal Code of 1810 was replaced in 1994 by a modernized penal code, this extraterritorial jurisdiction clause remained. French criminal law is applicable to any crime outside French territory when the victim is of French nationality. Toscan du Plantier was French, so her murder can be prosecuted under French law.

Vigilante Justice

The French have tried alleged criminals in absentia for the deaths of French nationals before. A similar case occurred in the summer of 1982 when Kalinka Bamberski was found dead by her stepfather, Dieter Krombach, in Lindau, Germany. Although evidence pointed to her stepfather being responsible for Bamberski’s death, German officials declined to open a case. In 1995, following lobbying by Bamberski’s father, André Bamberski, a French court convicted Krombach of manslaughter. He did not serve a single day of his 15-year sentence; he remained in Germany, where the authorities refused to extradite him.

It seemed like it would remain this way: André Bamberski yearning for justice for his daughter while Dieter Krombach remained a free man in Germany. In the early hours of October 18, 2009, however, French police in the city of Mulhouse got a tip from an anonymous caller that they would find a notorious fugitive in their town. Racing up a residential street, the police found an abandoned, bruised, 74-year-old Krombach tied up and gagged. After the police learned his identity, Krombach was arrested. The next day, the police traced the call of the anonymous man and arrested André Bamberski in a Mulhouse hotel. He was arrested on charges of kidnapping after hiring three men to beat up Krombach in Bavaria and drive him to Mulhouse, France.

It seems unlikely that Ian Bailey will be kidnapped by Toscan du Plantier’s elderly father. It seems equally unlikely, however, that Ireland’s High Court will extradite him to France, following the example of Germany. Only Irish courts can decide whether or not France’s long-standing claim to extraterritorial prosecution should stand.