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In a historic case for Mexican justice, French woman Florence Cassez won a long battle against authorities who put her in prison seven years ago for kidnapping and other crimes, with the woman reclaiming her liberty and returning to her country. -
"Ive suffered a kidnapping, I'm been a victim for seven years," said Cassez and insisted she was innocent in a press conference in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
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On Wednesday with a vote of 3 in favor and 2 against, the Mexican Supreme Court conceded the "immediate and absolute" liberation of Cassez, considering that her fundamental rights were violated during a process that culimnated in a sentence of 60 years in prison.
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Though the court didn't actually debate her innocence or guilt, she always maintained that she was not part of the band of kidnappers led by her boyfriend, Israel Vallarta, who she met in the country.
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Born on November 17, 1974 in Lille, Northern France, Cazzez arrived in Mexico in March 11 2003, where she lived with her brother Sebastien, who with whom she began working. After leaving the conflict, and after conflicts with her sister-in-law, she began to work with an interior designer.
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En octubre de ese año conoció a Israel Vallarta, quien dice ser vendedor de automóviles y empiezan a vivir juntos. Cassez regresó a Francia a mediados de 2005 y, después de dos meses allí, volvió a México en septiembre de 2005 y comenzó a trabajar en un hotel.
In OCtober of that year she met Israel Vallarta, who said he was a car salesman, and they began to live together. Cassez returned to France in 2005, after two months there she returned to Mexico in September 2005 and began working in a hotel. -
She was arrested on December 8, 2005 in the state of Morelos in Northern Mexico and taken to a ranch to participate in a television montage for the police. The montage simulated a live operation in which the Mexican police arrested Cassez and her boyfriend, presumed leader of a band of kidnappers called Los Zodiacos and who has not been sentenced. -
Sentenced initially to 96 years in jail for her participation with the band, her sentence was reduced to 60 years in 2010. Aside from thre kidnappings, the sentence also included charges or organized crime and illegal possesion of firearms reserved for military use. -
Upon talking to the press in paris, Cassez launched an attack on the Mexican government, stressing how hard it was for her in prison to deal with the injustice.
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She insisted that she had to fight against the Government in the highest level, often asking if something bad would happen to her. "I was afraid, but I decided to fight, take what it takes. With that in her past, she believes Mexico proved it is a democracy after the Supreme COurt decided to liberate her.
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Her mother, Florence Cassez, denounced that her daughter be held as a hostage and that the previous Mexican president, Felipe Calderon, had used her as a political tool. "From the moment Felipe Calderon talked to the people to say they would not let her leave. Why did he do that?", asked Charlotte Cassez in an interview with BFM Tv.
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The case caused fervor and protest in many sectors of the Mexican population. In this photograph, Michelle Valadez, whose husband was kidnapped by the band which Cassez boyfriend led, protested her exit from prison. -
Florence Cassez gave thanks for those that acted on her behalf, among them many Mexicans. "Thanks to them, I owe them everything."
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In a historic case for Mexican justice, French woman Florence Cassez won a long battle against authorities who put her in prison seven years ago for kidnapping and other crimes, with the woman reclaiming her liberty and returning to her country.
