Trial in France Angolagate
The trial of the “Angolagate” opened Wednesday shortly after 9:30 in the Court of Appeal of Paris, which runs until March 2, consider the case of alleged arms trafficking to Angola on a background of civil war Petroleum and parallel diplomacy.
Twenty defendants
The businessman Pierre Falcone Franco-Angolan, 56, and former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, 83, took place as expected among the defendants at the forefront of the great courtroom filled with dozens of lawyers.
Arms sales to Angola
The defendants, 42 in the first trial held two years ago before the criminal court, are this time about twenty, who have appealed their convictions and are prosecuted for either organizing or facilitating the sale of weapons, over the period 1993-98 and an estimated 790 million dollars, to have collected bribes, kickbacks.
The French-Israeli businessman of Russian origin Arcadi Gaydamak aged 58 years i was however absent, as in the first trial. Falcone had been sentenced to six years in prison in the first instance, convicted of trade “illegal” arms to Angola, Southern African countries in civil war then. The first was held in jail since the second run.
Charles Pasqua is itself suspected of having improperly received money in exchange for his lobbying. He was sentenced to three years in prison including a firm trial.
