Breton “Show trial” condemned by Celtic League

A number of groups and individuals, including Parti Breton, the Green Party, musician Alan Stivell and the Gorsedd of Brittany, have spoken out against the imminent trial of three Breton activists, which is due to begin on the 17th November 2008.

Gaël Roblin, Kristian Georgeault and Pascal Laizé will face a special court in the Palais de Justice, Paris, where they will be accused of being implicated in the Breton Revolutionary Army (ARB) and the bombing of a MacDonald's restaurant in Quevert, Brittany, in 2000, in which one person died. After the fatal bombing, the three above named defendants, along with nine other Breton activists, were arrested and held without charge until their trial at another special court in Paris, in 2004. Both Roblin and Laize have always denied any involvement in ARB activities.

After their 2004 court appearance, which was largely seen as little more than a Paris show trial - it could not be proved that any of the defendants were linked to the Quevert bombing and many had to be released immediately due to the long prison terms they had already served, including Gaël Roblin. Gaël Roblin, Kristian Georgeault and Pascal Laize however were sentenced to 3, 11 and 8 years respectively. Laize was also prohibited from returning to Breizh/Brittany, despite the fact that all his family (including his two daughters) lived there.

The police however, have still not been able to find the culprits of the Quevert bombing and now the French state public prosecutor has called for the trial of the three defendants to be opened up once again. Not surprisingly, many in Brittany see the case as being politically motivated and it will not be the first time that Georgeault and Laize have been tried for the same charge. Georgeault and Laize were initially arrested in 2000, like Roblin and were sentenced in 2004 for involvement in the ARB and then again in 2005, in a different court for the same charge. Like in 2004, the court hearing in Paris this month will be held without a jury and the defendants will be accused of the same crime once again.

All three defendants have had to slowly rebuild their lives after being held in prison for such lengthy periods, with the loss of jobs and financial security. Many of those originally arrested have subsequently chosen not to take such a prominent role in Breton politics. All three defendants however are well known in Brittany and Gael Roblin is now involved in the Breton solidarity movement that supports prisoners and persons under investigation, Skoazell Vreizh. Jerome Bouthier, another activist who was also arrested in 2000 and held without charge, is now President of the Skoazell Vreizh organisation.

Today, suspicion by the French state in matters relating to the Breton political movement can still be seen in Breizh/Brittany, as was observed at first hand by Celtic League delegates at their AGM in Landerne/Landerneau, in 2006. At this time Bouthier was invited to speak at the Celtic League AGM, on behalf of Skoazell Vreizh, to inform delegates about the situation of Kristian Georgeault, whose release the League were campaigning for at the time. The French Gendarmerie police also turned up however and waited conspicuously at the end of the road.

The League's General Secretary (GS), who campaigned vigorously for the release of those arrested in 2000, including Roblin, Georgeault and Laizé said:

« The Celtic League condemns the French authorities for their seemingly never ending witch hunt of Breton political activists, which they have pursued vigorously since the end of World War II, based on false and fabricated accusations and executing many people along the way.

Gaël Roblin, Kristian Georgeault and Pascal Laize have all been accused of having something to do with the Quevert bombing, but previous trials have found nothing against them. There have been many instances of French state inspired terrorism in the past and it has been widely rumoured and even brought up in court that the French intelligence services were possibly responsible for the Quevert bomb, after they found the device at another MacDonald's restaurant in Pornic, six days earlier. The Pornic device had been planted by the ARB, which they freely admitted, but they have always denied having anything to do with the bomb that went off in the MacDonalds in Quevert.

Whatever the verdict of the Paris trial, later this month, there is no doubt what the French authorities are trying to do, once again. The French state prosecutor is looking for a way to close the Quevert case, while at the same time try to discredit and break the spirit of the accused. Fortunately this time around, more people will be aware of the injustice being inflicted upon these Breton activists, which will go some way to show a wider audience the difficulties that the people of Brittany have to endure under French state rule ».

On Saturday November 15th 2008, there will be a gathering of supporters of the three activists in Rennes to demonstrate their solidarity with the accused.

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League 05/11/08