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| French and UK police join forces to speed up progress in Alps shooting case | French and UK police join forces to speed up progress in Alps shooting case |
| (4 months later) | |
| A joint Franco-British investigation team has been set up to streamline inquiries into the deaths of a British family in the Alps as a French prosecutor admitted that bureaucratic obstacles had at times made progress "extremely slow". | A joint Franco-British investigation team has been set up to streamline inquiries into the deaths of a British family in the Alps as a French prosecutor admitted that bureaucratic obstacles had at times made progress "extremely slow". |
| Surrey police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the unit would help improve co-operation in the inquiries into the killings of British engineer Saad al-Hilli, 50, his 47-year-old wife, Ikbal, her mother, Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, and Frenchman Sylvain Mollier, 45. | Surrey police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the unit would help improve co-operation in the inquiries into the killings of British engineer Saad al-Hilli, 50, his 47-year-old wife, Ikbal, her mother, Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, and Frenchman Sylvain Mollier, 45. |
| The four victims were found shot dead on a forest road near the village of Chevaline on 5 September. The Hillis' seven-year-old daughter, Zeinab, had been shot and badly beaten, and her four-year-old sister, Zeena, was found hours later hiding beneath her mother's skirts. | The four victims were found shot dead on a forest road near the village of Chevaline on 5 September. The Hillis' seven-year-old daughter, Zeinab, had been shot and badly beaten, and her four-year-old sister, Zeena, was found hours later hiding beneath her mother's skirts. |
| Despite the work of dozens of police officers on both side of the Channel, efforts to get to the bottom of the mysterious attack have yielded no suspects. | Despite the work of dozens of police officers on both side of the Channel, efforts to get to the bottom of the mysterious attack have yielded no suspects. |
| Outlining the function of the joint team, public prosecutor Eric Maillaud said the inquiry had been hindered by differences between the French and British judicial processes. | Outlining the function of the joint team, public prosecutor Eric Maillaud said the inquiry had been hindered by differences between the French and British judicial processes. |
| "There is a shock of legal cultures which is making everything extremely slow," he told AFP. | "There is a shock of legal cultures which is making everything extremely slow," he told AFP. |
| He said the team – which would bring officers from Surrey police, representatives of the CPS and gendarmes from nearby Chambéry under the authority of two French investigating magistrates – would work "as if they were in one country" and "as if there was no longer a border". | He said the team – which would bring officers from Surrey police, representatives of the CPS and gendarmes from nearby Chambéry under the authority of two French investigating magistrates – would work "as if they were in one country" and "as if there was no longer a border". |
| In a joint statement, Detective Chief Superintendent Adrian Harper and Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS South East Jaswant Narwal said: "The establishment today of the Joint Investigation Team marks a significant step forward in progressing the murder investigation, enabling closer co-operation and greater understanding between the UK and French authorities, with a single focus of bringing to justice those responsible for these heinous crimes." | In a joint statement, Detective Chief Superintendent Adrian Harper and Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS South East Jaswant Narwal said: "The establishment today of the Joint Investigation Team marks a significant step forward in progressing the murder investigation, enabling closer co-operation and greater understanding between the UK and French authorities, with a single focus of bringing to justice those responsible for these heinous crimes." |
| A spokesman for Surrey police said: "We've had a very good ongoing relationship with the French authorities from the word go, but because it's an inquiry that's over two jurisdictions, that brings with it its own challenges. Having the [team] simplifies the way we can make our inquiries over here." | A spokesman for Surrey police said: "We've had a very good ongoing relationship with the French authorities from the word go, but because it's an inquiry that's over two jurisdictions, that brings with it its own challenges. Having the [team] simplifies the way we can make our inquiries over here." |
| In response to a claim by Maillaud that it had rejected several official requests for co-operation, the Home Office said in a statement it had "co-operated fully with the French authorities" on the case. | In response to a claim by Maillaud that it had rejected several official requests for co-operation, the Home Office said in a statement it had "co-operated fully with the French authorities" on the case. |
| Since 2000, EU member states have been able to form joint teams under the control of the EU judicial co-operation body Eurojust for specific investigations that stretch across two or more countries. | Since 2000, EU member states have been able to form joint teams under the control of the EU judicial co-operation body Eurojust for specific investigations that stretch across two or more countries. |
| Maillaud said this latest initiative would be the 25th established involving France but only the second between France and Britain. He suggested it could ultimately be expanded to cover other European countries such as Spain, where Saad al-Hilli's late father lived, Sweden, where Allaf lived, or Switzerland and Italy, where the killer or killers may have fled. | Maillaud said this latest initiative would be the 25th established involving France but only the second between France and Britain. He suggested it could ultimately be expanded to cover other European countries such as Spain, where Saad al-Hilli's late father lived, Sweden, where Allaf lived, or Switzerland and Italy, where the killer or killers may have fled. |
| Investigators on the case have said they are pursuing three main lines of inquiry into the deaths. | Investigators on the case have said they are pursuing three main lines of inquiry into the deaths. |
| The first centred on an alleged family feud after reports surfaced that Saad al-Hilli had been involved in a dispute with his brother over their father's inheritance. His brother, Zaid, has vehemently denied the reports. The second concerned Hilli's work as an engineer for different companies, and the third involved his roots in Iraq, where he was born and where he is believed to have returned two years ago in a bid to recoup some family assets. | The first centred on an alleged family feud after reports surfaced that Saad al-Hilli had been involved in a dispute with his brother over their father's inheritance. His brother, Zaid, has vehemently denied the reports. The second concerned Hilli's work as an engineer for different companies, and the third involved his roots in Iraq, where he was born and where he is believed to have returned two years ago in a bid to recoup some family assets. |
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