Paris court to resolve Madagascar killings

Four men accused of murdering a French family of Pakistani origin in Madagascar in 2001 are standing trial at a French court. An initial trial took place in February 2009 in the French overseas Indian Ocean island of Saint Denis de la Réunion but it was suspended due to legal flaws. On 11 June the Supreme Court reversed the decision and ordered a new trial -- but this time in Paris. 

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It is thought that a three-way video will be set up between Paris, Madagascar and the Réunion islands to allow the fifty or more witnesses and experts to take part.

Judge Laurence Turbe-Bion said he feared the hearing could last much longer than scheduled. A verdict is expected on the 17 November but he said it could extend a further two days.

The crime dates back to April 2001 when armed men burst into the family home and opened fire, killing five members of the Remtoula family.

The killing sparked outrage in the largely Shia Muslim Pakistani community, most of whom chose French nationality when Madagascar gained independence from the French in 1960.

When the first trial collapsed, the family of the victims turned to the French-administered Réunion Island. The subsequent investigation led to the arrests of Mamode Abasse Mamodtaky and his brothers-in-law Babar Ali Yohan, Riazhoussen Damdjy and Jean- François Crozet, who is the only person to admit involvement.