Militant freed from jail in France

BAPAUME, France – A member of a French guerrilla group, serving a life sentence for two assassinations, was freed yesterday after a court ordered her release because of a brain tumour.

Joelle Aubron, a member of the now defunct leftist group Action Directe, who has been in jail since 1987, was convicted with three others of the 1980s killings of Renault car company boss, Georges Besse, and French defence ministry official, Rene Audran. About 20 members of an Action Directe support group greeted the 45-year-old Aubron on her release from the jail in northern France, chanting the Internationale, the anthem of many Socialists, Communists and revolutionaries worldwide.Aubron said the law allowing prisoners to be freed in some cases when seriously ill was not being evenly applied and that the others jailed with her – Nathalie Menigon, Jean-Marc Rouillan and George Cipriani – should be freed too.”The battle for their liberation goes on,” said Aubron, who is expected to join relatives in the Yonne region to the south of Paris and continue medical treatment for her cancerous tumour.Action Directe waged war against “Western Imperialism” from the late 1970s, claiming a dozen or more killings and scores of attacks before Aubron and the others were arrested in a swoop on a farmhouse in 1987.- Nampa-ReutersAbout 20 members of an Action Directe support group greeted the 45-year-old Aubron on her release from the jail in northern France, chanting the Internationale, the anthem of many Socialists, Communists and revolutionaries worldwide.Aubron said the law allowing prisoners to be freed in some cases when seriously ill was not being evenly applied and that the others jailed with her – Nathalie Menigon, Jean-Marc Rouillan and George Cipriani – should be freed too.”The battle for their liberation goes on,” said Aubron, who is expected to join relatives in the Yonne region to the south of Paris and continue medical treatment for her cancerous tumour.Action Directe waged war against “Western Imperialism” from the late 1970s, claiming a dozen or more killings and scores of attacks before Aubron and the others were arrested in a swoop on a farmhouse in 1987.- Nampa-Reuters