French ambassador vows justice in Zeitouni case

Upon leaving office, Christophe Bigot vows to bring men responsible for hit-and-run that killed Lee Zeitouni to justice

Shiri Hadar |Published: 10.25.12 , 23:18

"Those who ran over Lee Zeitouni will be sent to jail," French ambassador to Israel Christophe Bigot pledged at a farewell event marking his end of office on Thursday.

As Bigot spoke of his role as ambassador to Israel and shared his experiences as a diplomat, he also mentioned visiting the family of Lee Zeitouni, who was killed in a hit-and-run incident in 2011 by two French citizens – Claude Isaac Khayat and Eric Robic.

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"I felt for them," Bigot said of Zeitouni's family members. "This is a real tragedy. But unfortunately, according to French law, we cannot extradite French citizens. We do, however, have a legal system by which we can judge them and send them to prison."

According to the French ambassador, France contacted Zeitouni's family and the State of Israel, urging them to file a complaint with the French government against the perpetrators, who fled to France on the day of the accident. "For obvious emotional reasons, a complaint was filed only nine months after the accident, as the family realized that the men could not be extradited to Israel," Bigot added.

"As soon as a complaint was received, judges were appointed and the French police asked the Israeli police for the details of the investigation so that the men who ran Zeitouni over will be punished. The process is still ongoing and soon a trial will be held and the criminals sent to jail."

Bigot also delivered a message to French citizens breaking the law, ensuring them that the government will not allow them to go unpunished.

During the event, the ambassador did not fail to address the Iranian issue, as he stated that "France realizes that we are losing time and is therefore urging the international community to find a way to stop the Iranians from obtaining nuclear power."