Zoomerang96
ONE love, blood, life
funny thing... were supposed to pitty him cause of his health. did he and his fellow nazi cronies grant mercy on the sick and old jews back in the 40s?
the bastard doesnt regret a thing hes done. someone shoulda put a bullet to the back of his head. still can i guess.
Papon leaves prison
By KIM HOUSEGO-- Associated Press
Wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, who was serving 10 years in jail for his role in the persecution of French Jews during World War II, leaves La Sante prison in Paris Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2002, after an appeals court ordered his release for medical reasons. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PARIS (AP) -- Wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, convicted of sending French Jews to Nazi death camps, was released from prison Wednesday after a court ruled he was too old and sick to serve out his 10-year sentence.
As the frail-looking 92-year-old shuffled out of Paris' La Sante prison, a few protesters shouted "Papon, assassin!" and "Papon in jail!"
The one-time Paris police chief and national budget minister wore a quilted coat despite the warm day and was heavily guarded by dozens of police. His lawyers helped him into a dark Renault sedan. Residents of a nearby apartment building leaned out of windows to watch.
The court's decision provoked immediate outpourings of frustration and dismay from Holocaust survivors and others who fought a long battle to bring Papon to justice. Papon was convicted in 1998 of complicity in crimes against humanity and spent three years behind bars.
Alain Jakubowicz, a lawyer who represented families of Papon's victims at his trial, noted that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the roundup of Jews by France's collaborationist wartime regime. "That's the most important thing, not the release of Maurice Papon."
"I simply hope that once released, Maurice Papon will have the decency to shut up and not strut around as he has until now," Jakubowicz said.
Michel Slitinsky, who was 17 when he narrowly escaped a Papon-ordered roundup of Jews from Bordeaux in 1942, said the ruling "destroyed the hopes and security that we had" after the verdict that sent Papon to jail.
Serge Klarsfeld, a Nazi hunter and historian who helped assemble much of the evidence used at Papon's trial, said the decision to free him "gives a feeling of injustice."
"We had fought so that he would stay in prison," Klarsfeld said. "What I hope is that this sick man doesn't turn out to be healthy."
Now that he is free, Papon plans to "rest, rebuild his health and spend time with family and friends," lawyer Jean-Marc Varaut said.
Varaut said his stunned client gathered up his prison belongings, including framed photos of his dead wife and of Gen. Charles de Gaulle, when told Wednesday of the ruling.
"He didn't believe it," Varaut said. "I told him he was free. He said: 'How did it happen?"'
Papon rose to budget minister after the war, making him the highest-ranking former French official sentenced for collaboration with the Nazis. His six-month trial revived painful memories of France's wartime past.
Papon led the Bordeaux area police during the Nazi occupation of France and was convicted in 1998 for signing orders that led to the deportation of 1,690 Jews from Bordeaux from 1942-44. Most were sent to Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp in occupied Poland. All but a handful died.
Papon's continuing imprisonment had sparked impassioned debate in France about jailing the elderly. Two former French prime ministers were among those who had called for Papon's release.
Papon had triple coronary bypass surgery several years ago and had a pacemaker implanted in January 1999.
His lawyers have repeatedly pressed for his release because of his poor health. They filed another request over the summer, based on a new provision in French law that allows prisoners to be freed if two independent doctors agree they are suffering from a fatal illness, or their long-term health is jeopardized by remaining behind bars.
A court rejected the request on July 24, and Papon's lawyers appealed.
The panel of three appeals court judges said it based its decision on the opinion of several doctors who said Papon's health was "incompatible with his remaining in detention."
Before the ruling, French President Jacques Chirac had turned down three requests to pardon Papon. Chirac's Elysee Palace said it had no immediate comment Wednesday.
Justice Minister Dominique Perben said the decision was not what the prosecutor, his ministry and he personally had hoped for.
"We believed that his continued imprisonment was necessary, taking into account the seriousness of the charges against him," Perben told France-Info radio.
Papon will be "totally free to come and go," said Francis Vuillemin, another of Papon's lawyers. Papon will, however, have to inform a judge when he leaves his residence at Gretz-Armainvilliers, outside Paris.
In Papon's hometown, residents were reluctant to speak about their infamous neighbor.
"The community is very divided," said a 72-year-old retiree who would only give his name as Michel. "Papon was a former mayor here and was generally well-liked but he was also convicted for grave crimes."
The Paris prosecutor's office said it will not appeal the court's decision, judicial officials said.
The former official fled to Switzerland after his conviction, but was arrested and began serving his sentence in October 1999. Last year, he wrote in a letter to France's justice minister that he felt neither "regrets or remorse" for his acts.
the bastard doesnt regret a thing hes done. someone shoulda put a bullet to the back of his head. still can i guess.
Papon leaves prison
By KIM HOUSEGO-- Associated Press
Wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, who was serving 10 years in jail for his role in the persecution of French Jews during World War II, leaves La Sante prison in Paris Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2002, after an appeals court ordered his release for medical reasons. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PARIS (AP) -- Wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, convicted of sending French Jews to Nazi death camps, was released from prison Wednesday after a court ruled he was too old and sick to serve out his 10-year sentence.
As the frail-looking 92-year-old shuffled out of Paris' La Sante prison, a few protesters shouted "Papon, assassin!" and "Papon in jail!"
The one-time Paris police chief and national budget minister wore a quilted coat despite the warm day and was heavily guarded by dozens of police. His lawyers helped him into a dark Renault sedan. Residents of a nearby apartment building leaned out of windows to watch.
The court's decision provoked immediate outpourings of frustration and dismay from Holocaust survivors and others who fought a long battle to bring Papon to justice. Papon was convicted in 1998 of complicity in crimes against humanity and spent three years behind bars.
Alain Jakubowicz, a lawyer who represented families of Papon's victims at his trial, noted that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the roundup of Jews by France's collaborationist wartime regime. "That's the most important thing, not the release of Maurice Papon."
"I simply hope that once released, Maurice Papon will have the decency to shut up and not strut around as he has until now," Jakubowicz said.
Michel Slitinsky, who was 17 when he narrowly escaped a Papon-ordered roundup of Jews from Bordeaux in 1942, said the ruling "destroyed the hopes and security that we had" after the verdict that sent Papon to jail.
Serge Klarsfeld, a Nazi hunter and historian who helped assemble much of the evidence used at Papon's trial, said the decision to free him "gives a feeling of injustice."
"We had fought so that he would stay in prison," Klarsfeld said. "What I hope is that this sick man doesn't turn out to be healthy."
Now that he is free, Papon plans to "rest, rebuild his health and spend time with family and friends," lawyer Jean-Marc Varaut said.
Varaut said his stunned client gathered up his prison belongings, including framed photos of his dead wife and of Gen. Charles de Gaulle, when told Wednesday of the ruling.
"He didn't believe it," Varaut said. "I told him he was free. He said: 'How did it happen?"'
Papon rose to budget minister after the war, making him the highest-ranking former French official sentenced for collaboration with the Nazis. His six-month trial revived painful memories of France's wartime past.
Papon led the Bordeaux area police during the Nazi occupation of France and was convicted in 1998 for signing orders that led to the deportation of 1,690 Jews from Bordeaux from 1942-44. Most were sent to Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp in occupied Poland. All but a handful died.
Papon's continuing imprisonment had sparked impassioned debate in France about jailing the elderly. Two former French prime ministers were among those who had called for Papon's release.
Papon had triple coronary bypass surgery several years ago and had a pacemaker implanted in January 1999.
His lawyers have repeatedly pressed for his release because of his poor health. They filed another request over the summer, based on a new provision in French law that allows prisoners to be freed if two independent doctors agree they are suffering from a fatal illness, or their long-term health is jeopardized by remaining behind bars.
A court rejected the request on July 24, and Papon's lawyers appealed.
The panel of three appeals court judges said it based its decision on the opinion of several doctors who said Papon's health was "incompatible with his remaining in detention."
Before the ruling, French President Jacques Chirac had turned down three requests to pardon Papon. Chirac's Elysee Palace said it had no immediate comment Wednesday.
Justice Minister Dominique Perben said the decision was not what the prosecutor, his ministry and he personally had hoped for.
"We believed that his continued imprisonment was necessary, taking into account the seriousness of the charges against him," Perben told France-Info radio.
Papon will be "totally free to come and go," said Francis Vuillemin, another of Papon's lawyers. Papon will, however, have to inform a judge when he leaves his residence at Gretz-Armainvilliers, outside Paris.
In Papon's hometown, residents were reluctant to speak about their infamous neighbor.
"The community is very divided," said a 72-year-old retiree who would only give his name as Michel. "Papon was a former mayor here and was generally well-liked but he was also convicted for grave crimes."
The Paris prosecutor's office said it will not appeal the court's decision, judicial officials said.
The former official fled to Switzerland after his conviction, but was arrested and began serving his sentence in October 1999. Last year, he wrote in a letter to France's justice minister that he felt neither "regrets or remorse" for his acts.
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