1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144 
French court waits two years to renew UK drug prosecution
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• by Guy Sheppard A UK lorry driver is facing a renewed threat of jail for smuggling, even though he was released from French custody more than two years ago because there was insufficient evidence against him.
The unexpected re-opening of the court case against Robin Jennings has appalled the pressure group Fair Trials Abroad, which says no new evidence has come to light.
Deputy director Sarah de Mas says Jennings will be jailed for three years and fined ,£100,000 unless he can prove his innocence.
Jennings, an owner-driver, spent eight months in custody after 415kg of cannabis was discovered inside his truck by French customs officials in October 1998.
Robert Thompson, a retired French-based lawyer who initially acted for Jennings, says the delay in re-opening the case is unreasonably long but is partly explained by the examining magistrate who originally dealt with it moving to another part of the country. "A young beginner has since taken over and has decided to send him for trial," Thompson explains. He adds that the UK authorities may also be to blame for the delay: "One of the dreadful things that happens with these lorry drivers is that when the examining magistrates ask for information from British authorities, they often have to wait years for it to arrive."
Jennings was not available for comment as CM went to press.