It is worrisome that the President was in the stadium. Where did that come from so he was to be a target?
Paris (Reuters) – French Real Madrid (click here) striker Karim Benzema was placed under formal judicial investigation on Thursday in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail fellow-France soccer international Mathieu Valbuena with the use of a sex video.
A statement from the public prosecutor in Versailles west of Paris said the inquiry covered alleged offences that can carry a prison sentence of at least five years.
His lawyer, Sylvain Cormier said that Benzema was totally innocent. “He played no part, I repeat no part, in any blackmail or attempted blackmail,” Cormier told reporters.
The prosecutor’s move, which in France’s justice system does not necessarily mean he will end up being tried, but does mean investigators believe they have serious grounds for pursuing the matter with him, exposes Benzema to a period of doubt ahead of a European nations soccer contest that France hosts next year.
Investigators, who among several others questioned former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse in the same case in mid-October without subsequently placing him under formal investigation, are trying to identify who was behind the alleged extortion attempt....
Paris (Reuters) – French Real Madrid (click here) striker Karim Benzema was placed under formal judicial investigation on Thursday in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail fellow-France soccer international Mathieu Valbuena with the use of a sex video.
A statement from the public prosecutor in Versailles west of Paris said the inquiry covered alleged offences that can carry a prison sentence of at least five years.
His lawyer, Sylvain Cormier said that Benzema was totally innocent. “He played no part, I repeat no part, in any blackmail or attempted blackmail,” Cormier told reporters.
The prosecutor’s move, which in France’s justice system does not necessarily mean he will end up being tried, but does mean investigators believe they have serious grounds for pursuing the matter with him, exposes Benzema to a period of doubt ahead of a European nations soccer contest that France hosts next year.
Investigators, who among several others questioned former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse in the same case in mid-October without subsequently placing him under formal investigation, are trying to identify who was behind the alleged extortion attempt....
