Could Ian Bailey be kidnapped by French authorities to serve 25-year sentence for murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier?
10 July 2021  By Tom Collins  tom@TheCork.ie  The official  or even black ops  kidnapping of a person to have them stand trial in another Country is more common than you may think  Famously, in 1960 A team of Mossad and Shin Bet agents captured Holocaust Nazi Adolf Eichmann and spirited him to Israel to stand trial on 15 criminal charges, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against the Jewish people. There is a dramatisation of events in the Netflix Movie Operation Finale. Its tempting to think that the modern world is different, as regards kidnappings  however justified they may appear to be to the kidnapper. Fortunately, we dont hear of kidnappings much in the Irish news, but they are still common in France. There, the kidnapping of workplace bosses  bossnapping  is something of an industrial relations tactic. Technically it is a criminal offence, but that doesnt stop it:  In April 2021 workers at a Renault car parts factory in northwest France held seven managers against their will for 12 hours in an attempt to stop the plant being sold. In 2015, angry Air France workers chased several executives at the airlines HQ near Paris, stripping one of them naked to the waist in front of TV cameras. In 2014, after a five-year dispute, executives at Goodyears French unit announced plans to close the Amiens tyre plant, putting 1,173 jobs at risk. Workers responded by holding two executives hostage in the building for two days and burning tyres outside the factory. In 2011, a group of parents at a private Catholic school in the southern Bouches-du-Rhne area held school staff hostage in an attempt to get a teacher fired over the lack of progress and discipline in her class. In this context, it was not surprising that Ian Bailey has said he fears he will be kidnapped by French authorities to serve 25-year sentence for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Ian Bailey has always denied any involvement in the 1996 murder of the 39-year-old French TV producer at Toormore, Schull, West Cork. Ian Bailey has never been tried for the murder in Ireland, however a 2019 trial in France  by French authorities  convicted Ian Bailey of the murder in his absence. Ian Bailey  then of The Prairie, Liscaha, Schull, Co Cork  described the Paris proceedings as a farce and a show trial.  Since the French ruling, Irish authorities have refused to extradite Ian Bailey. Nevertheless, the existence of French European Arrest Warrants means that Ian Bailey now fears leaving Ireland. Even a trip to his native UK could theoretically result in an arrest, as part of an extradition request from France. Ian Bailey  who has consistently protested his innocence  still lives near Schull, which is a scenic harbour town with many commercial boats and pleasure yachts visiting from abroad. Generally speaking, the sailing time from Ringaskiddy, Co Cork to France on a commercial ferry would be 15-18 hours, so a smaller boat from Schull may take up to 3 days. France does have an equivalent of the CIA called the DGSE or Direction gnrale de la scurit extrieure. The DGSE operates under the direction of the French Ministry of Defence. Above: Schull Pier  There has been a renewed international interest in the 1996 murder in recent weeks, because of the release of two documentaries on competing media platforms; namely Jim Sheridans Murder At The Cottage: the search for justice for Sophie on NowTV.com, and Netflixs Sophie: A Murder in West Cork. It is doubtless the case that the international attention is embarrassing for Frances reputation.