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Sexual assaultsFrance has refused to extradite Father Johannes Rivoire to Canada
France has rejected an extradition request for father Johannes Rivoire accused of sexually abusing a young Inuit in Canada in the 1970s, Ottawa said Wednesday.
An Inuit delegation visited Lyon in September 2022.
AFP
The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (SPPC) explained in a press release that the French government rejected the request because the French government prohibits the extradition of its own citizens and “too much time has passed between the events and the charges.” This last point prevents the French authorities from prosecuting Father Rivoire in France, the statement said.
Johannes Rivoire, now living in a nursing home in Lyon, was the subject of a Canadian arrest warrant for sexually assaulting a child in the Canadian Arctic between January 1974 and December 1979. Sexual assaults against three minors in 1998 and 2017.
For his part, Johannes Rivoire again denied all allegations during a meeting organized in September with representatives of Inuits who had come to support their request for extradition to France.
Interpol
“All possible legal avenues to extradite Johannes Rivoire from France or prosecute him in this state have been exhausted,” the SPPC concluded.
Canada’s Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Mark Miller said in a tweet that he was “saddened to see this great injustice happen again,” while insisting there were still leads leading to the father’s arrest. Revoir.
The criminal service indicated that it was working with the federal police so that Interpol could circulate a wanted notice, which could lead to the arrest of Johannes Rivoire in another country.
(AFP)