France Re-arrests Rwandan Who Confessed to Setting Nantes Ca
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 6:57 am
Fire fighters brigade work to extinguish the blaze at the Gothic St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral, in Nantes, western France, July 18, 2020.
French authorities have charged a Rwandan church volunteer who confessed to setting the 15-century Nantes cathedral on fire.
The local prosecutor's office said that the 39-year-old asylum-seeker who has lived in France for several years, was detained Saturday for a second time. He had been held for a day, questioned and released immediately after the fire on July 18.
Prosecutor Pierre Sennès, said the suspect admitted being responsible for the fire that started in three different places at the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul after initially denying it.
Sennès said in a statement that the man has been charged with "destruction and damage by fire," and faced up to 10 years in prison and $175,000 in fines.
French authorities have not identified the man and gave no motive for the arson.
His lawyer, identified in the media as Quentin Chabert, said his client bitterly regretted his acts.