Paris court revokes license of Lee Zeitouni's killer
Frenchman suspected of killing Israeli woman in hit-and-run crash convicted of speeding in separate case
A French national suspected of killing a young Israeli woman in a hit-and-run accident in Tel Aviv last year was of convicted of speeding on Saturday.
A Paris court revoked Claude Isaac Khayat's license for six months and fined him 500 euros. The man failed to attend the hearing.
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The trial was not linked to the legal proceedings in the death of Lee Zeitouni, 25, who was run over in Tel Aviv by Khayat and an accomplice, Eric Robic, in September 2011. Khayat and Robic fled to France to avoid prosecution by Israeli authorities after the crash.
Six month ago Khayat was arrested while driving 157 km/h down a highway stretching between Paris and Lyon. It wasn't his first encounter with traffic police; he was caught driving at a similar speed in December 2011 in Provence.
Memorial service held for Zeitouni (Photo: Hagai Aharon)
Zeitouni's friends and family, meanwhile, continue to lobby the authorities in France to prosecute Khayat and Robic to the fullest extent of the law for the young woman's death.
Roy Peled, Zeitouni's boyfriend, said he and the woman's family have been leading a public campaign meant to lay the legal ground ahead of the indictment.
"Even when the trial begins we won't rest until the two get what they deserve and are placed behind bars," he said.
AFP reported this past July that France launched a criminal investigation into Zeitouni's death. The two suspects could face manslaughter charges. France has so far refused to extradite the two, saying French citizens should be tried in France.
Attorney William Goldnadel, who is handling the case for the victim's family, told Ynet that he isn't surprised by Khayat's behavior.
"This wasn't his first grave traffic violation in France," he said. "Despite the tragedy that he caused in Tel Aviv, Khayat continues to drive dangerously and over the speed limit."
Goldnadel accused the prosecution in Israel of taking too long to hand Zeitouni's case over to France, but noted that the authorities in France are dragging their feet as well.
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