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AZF group case: the mysterious group finds itself before the courts
AZF group case: the mysterious group finds itself before the courts – (France 2)
In 2004, the AZF group threatened to detonate bombs on railway tracks. Behind these initials, two people are demanding a ransom of several million euros.
The blackmail of Michel Duflos, 76 years old, former business manager, and Perrine Rose, 61 years old, worried the SNCF and the State for months. They were behind the anonymous letters from AZF, a so-called terrorist group. In 2004, he threatened to detonate bombs under train lines if he did not receive a ransom of several million euros. At the hearing, Michel Duflos explains that he wanted to intimidate the authorities “only to scare”.
Up to ten years in prison incurred
However, the bombs are real, sophisticated and in working order. Two were laid under the Paris-Limoges (Haute-Vienne) and Paris-Basel (Switzerland) lines. According to Michel Duflos, the bomb was sabotaged and “couldn’t explode“. To speak with the authorities, AZF goes through announcements in the newspaper Libération. Finally, Michel Duflos throws in the towel and will not receive the ransom, which he said he wanted to invest for the common good. The defendants face ten years in prison .
