Post date: Jan 24, 2013 4:58:34 PM
French former prisoner Florence Cassez says she has seen the best and the worst in Mexico, where she spent seven years in jail.
ROISSY-EN-FRANCE, FRANCE (JANUARY 24, 2013) (REUTERS) - French former prisoner Florence Cassez who was released from a 60-year jail term in Mexico less than a day beforehand said on Thursday (January 24) she had seen the best and the worst in Mexico.
"I have seen the worst and the best in Mexico, through the people there. During my seven years in prison, I met great and admirable people, such as my cellmates, who gave me love and support. And there were many important Mexicans who wanted to understand and came to visit me. I owe them everything," she told a packed news conference, in Spanish.Mexico's Supreme Court ordered Cassez' immediate release, after judges said her trial was tainted.
Federal officers arrested Cassez, 38, in 2005 at a ranch near Mexico City with her former boyfriend, Israel Vallarta, whom they accused of heading a kidnapping gang called the Zodiacs.
A judge convicted her in 2008 after a closed-door trial with no jury, typical of most cases in Mexico.
Her lawyers had said Cassez' rights were violated before her conviction, which took place after a televised police recreation of her arrest, in which she was portrayed as a kidnapper.