“The law and cause of victims in terrorism owes him a great deal“, believes François Molins, public prosecutor near the Court of Cassation. He pays tribute Wednesday May 18 on franceinfo to Françoise Rudetzki, who died at the age of 73. She founded SOS Attentats, the first association for the defense of victims of acts of terrorism, having herself been seriously injured in an attack in 1983.
François Molins remembers “strength of conviction and stubbornness” by Françoise Rudetzki. They knew each other well. François Molins investigated several cases related to terrorism (Merah case, Charlie Hebdo, the attacks of November 2015), when he was public prosecutor of Paris.
franceinfo: You who knew her very well, how would you define yourself Françoise Rudetzki?
Francois Molins: She is a fighting woman. It is someone who had suffered in her flesh since she was the victim of a terrorist attack in Grand Véfour. She realized at the time the sidereal vacuum in which we were. Between 1983 and 1986, there was not much in terms of terrorism, there was not yet a centralized prosecutor’s office, nothing was done for the victims. So, indeed, she worked and fought all her life to have the status of victim recognized. It is a cause which, I think, was eminently just because when you are a victim of terrorism it is the State that you attack. The State has special duties towards the victims of the attacks. She was able to convey this message to politicians. She was able to obtain this status. She has advanced compensation for victims of terrorism. And then, it has never ceased to fight to improve the quality, precision and justice of the compensation system. So, she is really a woman of struggle and who, thanks to her constant stubbornness, was able to win her case on all the subjects she was involved in. Today, all the victims of the attacks fortunately benefit from it.
You were in charge of several major attacks that occurred in France, did it allow you to move forward in certain files?
She was someone I listened to very carefully because she actually had a knack for pointing out what was wrong and deserved to be reviewed and improved. He was someone I had a lot of respect for. He was a person we had to listen to because he had real expertise on all these subjects. She was very helpful. If I had to highlight two qualities, I would say strength of conviction and stubbornness, with this ability to fight as long as she did not win her case on the issues she was carrying. And that is quite admirable. I think that the law and the cause of victims in terrorism owes him a lot.
What still remains to be done in this area? Has most of the work been done in this recognition of the victims of attacks?
I would say, all the same, a lot has been done, when you see the place of France and compensation schemes in an international landscape, I think that France is rather at the forefront today. However, to say that everything is perfect. No, definitely not. There are always things that need to be revisited and improved in policies in this area. And unfortunately, it will never be over. We will have and we will continue to need Françoise Rudetzki figures to carry these subjects high.