Behind bars. Loïk Le Priol, the main suspect in the investigation opened after the shooting death of former rugby player Federico Martin Aramburu, was indicted for “murder and possession of weapons” and imprisoned on Friday, we learned. In the evening. The 27-year-old former soldier and member of the ultra-right Groupe Union Défense (GUD) movement was arrested on the night of March 22 to 23 in Hungary as he was preparing to travel to Ukraine. He arrived Thursday evening in France and was placed in detention before being brought to justice on Friday.
Loïk Le Priol is suspected of having fired several shots at the 42-year-old ex-rugby player after an altercation in a bar in the sixth arrondissement of the capital, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district.
Arrived at the Paris court on Friday morning, he was presented to the investigating judge in charge of the investigation, who notified him of his indictment for “murder”. A judge of freedoms and detention then ordered his placement in pre-trial detention. The judge justified the placement in detention “without surprise”, in particular with regard to the “versions that need to be confronted” between suspects and the risk of “repetition” due to a “journey of violence”.
Loïk Le Priol, brown hair combed to the side, black mustache, carefully reread his statements before greeting his two lawyers with a polite smile, at the end of the decision. “My client does not wish to make more statements than those he made in the context of the proceedings before the judge”, said one of his lawyers, Me Xavier Nogueras, after the hearing. The latter had called for a debate behind closed doors, considering that his client’s family was suffering “explicit death threats, in particular from people who claim to belong to the Basque community, the extreme left and the ultra-left”. “It’s a real tragedy. […] he recognized him as such during his interrogation” by the judge, added Me Nogueras. Loïk Le Priol, in a black puffer jacket, stood straight in the box when his lawyer spoke, hands clasped in front of him.
File S
Loïk Le Priol is known for his radicalism and violence. His anchorage to the ultra-right earned him to be “file S” by the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), sources familiar with the matter told AFP. In this investigation, two other people were indicted and remanded in custody.
Close to Loïk Le Priol, Romain Bouvier, 31, was indicted for “murder” and two offenses related to the possession of weapons. Suspected of having also shot Federico Martin Aramburu, he was imprisoned in the prison of Health in Paris.
A 24-year-old woman, presented as the girlfriend of Loïk Le Priol, was indicted for “complicity in murder”. She is suspected of having driven a vehicle belonging to the activist on the evening of the incident. Loïk Le Priol and Romain Bouvier are due to appear in June before the Paris Criminal Court for “aggravated violence” against a member of the GUD, whom they are suspected of having beaten and humiliated with three other members.
Under judicial control in this case, they were prohibited from making contact.