Argentina court allows French rugby players accused of rape to return home

RFI

4 September 2024 at 9:33 am·1-min read

Two French rugby players held in Argentina for almost two months on rape charges are on their way back to France after a court allowed them to return home pending the conclusion of their case.

Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou arrived at Buenos Aires airport on Tuesday evening and headed for passport control without speaking to the press.

The players boarded a flight to Paris shortly before midnight and were expected to arrive on Wednesday at 15h45 UT.

Earlier in the day a court in Mendoza, about 1,000 kilometres west of the capital Buenos Aires, ruled that the pair can leave the country "from this moment".

The prosecution had recommended that the players be allowed to travel because the accusation had "lost its initial force".

Jegou and Auradou, both 21, were arrested in July, just two days after winning their first international caps against Argentina in Mendoza.

Hearing date to be set

They were charged with the aggravated rape of a 39-year-old woman who alleged they viciously assaulted her in a hotel room after a night out following the match.

The men deny the accusation, saying sex with the woman had been consensual.

They were released from detention into house arrest on 17 July and freed under supervision last month.

The two players were allowed to travel from Mendoza to Buenos Aires last week pending a hearing into a request for the charges to be dropped.

A date for that hearing has yet to be set.

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Hearing date to be set

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