Murder of Philippine: Taha O. will be extradited to France on Wednesday

The Prosecutor’s Office in Geneva has given the green light for the extradition of Taha O. to France, as part of a simplified procedure, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday. The 22-year-old Moroccan was arrested on September 24 at the main station in Geneva as the main suspect in the murder of Philippine, the 19-year-old student found dead in the Bois de Boulogne, in western Paris, on September 21. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office has opened a judicial investigation for rape and homicide.

Informed of the arrest of the defendant, the French authorities requested his extradition to Switzerland on October 9. But Taha O. opposed his extradition. "The person being prosecuted did not consent to a simplified extradition," said a spokeswoman for the Federal Office of Justice. The defense had "a 14-day deadline to file determinations with the Federal Office of Justice. And during this period, I was able to discuss with my client the conditions of extradition," lawyer Florence Yersin, the defendant’s lawyer, said last Tuesday.

Finally, the latter managed to convince Taha O. "My client made his decision after understanding the ins and outs of the extradition procedure [...]. This is an informed choice on his part," she said. Convicted in 2021 to seven years in prison by the juvenile assize court for the rape of a young woman in the Bois Taverny in the Val-d’Oise, the Moroccan was released in June last, "at the end of his sentence," according to the Paris Prosecutor’s Office. He has been subject to an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF) since June 18 last.

After the arrest of Taha O. in Geneva, the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, called for "evolving the legal arsenal" of France. On September 26, a few days after the murder of Philippine, French President Emmanuel Macron was already stressing the urgency to "better protect the French," expressing "the emotion of the whole Nation" after this "odious crime".