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A days-long search operation ended with the gruesome discovery of the body.
AFP
Following the death of Lyhanna (†11), a wave of anger has erupted in France. Apparently, over the past few years, the authorities have repeatedly received tips against the perpetrator - but have not taken action.
For a week, France hoped for a miracle. Now there is certainty: eleven-year-old Lyhanna, who had been missing since May 29 in Fleurance in the south of France, is dead.
The girl's body was found on Friday in a grain silo a few kilometers from her home. A 41-year-old man is in custody. He is considered the main suspect.
But in France, it is no longer just about the alleged crime itself. The case is developing into a political affair.
blue News provides you with an overview of the most important points.
Hundreds of officials searched for the girl for days.
AFP
Lyhanna disappeared on May 29 on her way home from school. Police, the army, volunteers and relatives searched for the girl for days. Helicopters circled over the region and her picture was in the national media.
Finally, investigators found her body in a grain silo near Puycasquier, a village with 450 inhabitants in the south of the country. Lyhanna had also lived there.
French police officers guard an agricultural silo where a body was found during the search for the missing eleven-year-old girl Lyhanna. Photo: Frederic Lancelot/AP/dpa
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A 41-year-old man has been in custody for several days. He is the father of a schoolmate and took Lyhanna in his car on Friday last week, allegedly to drop the child off at the swimming pool at her request. The police suspect him of having something to do with the girl's fate.
According to French media reports, the suspect had already been the subject of several reports of alleged sexual assaults on minors over a number of years. There are said to have been a total of five reports.
Lyhanna's parents are also said to have become suspicious earlier. The girl reportedly said that the man had repeatedly touched and tickled her at a pyjama party.
A complaint from last summer is particularly serious. A family from the region accused the man of raping their then ten-year-old daughter several times. According to the newspaper "Le Parisien", the family repeatedly contacted the authorities. However, the suspect was never summoned and never questioned.
It is precisely this fact that is now causing fierce criticism of the authorities.
France's Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin is under pressure.
AFP
The public prosecutor's office and the gendarmerie are at the center of the criticism. An investigation by the Ministry of Justice is now to clarify why existing protocols for suspected cases involving underage victims were apparently not followed.
France's Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin, spoke of "considerable and unacceptable disruptions" in the handling of the proceedings against the suspect. He called a crisis meeting with representatives of the public prosecutor's office for Monday.
Darmanin also announced that all proceedings involving underage victims would be re-examined. According to him, this involves around 70,000 current or previous cases.
"I will not be going on vacation," said the minister on the LCI television station. Senior members of the judiciary would now also have to account for their actions. Since the beginning of the year, France has given priority to cases involving underage victims. In the case of the man who has now been arrested, initial findings suggest that this did not happen.
President Emmanuel Macron also intervened. The French head of state publicly acknowledged that the case had highlighted abuses in the justice system. Government circles also said that existing guidelines had apparently not been implemented consistently.
"It is obvious that there is a failure here, and we cannot overlook the fact that weaknesses have come to light; these must be clarified (...) as must the responsibilities that play a role here," said Macron after the case became known.
Around 6000 people gathered in Fleurance.
KEYSTONE
On Sunday, around 6,000 people gathered in Fleurance, where the girl went to school, for a silent march.
The participants wore white T-shirts and held banners with messages for the girl who was killed. Lyhanna's parents and brother also took part. At the family's request, national politicians decided not to take part.
The investigation into Lyhanna's death is continuing.
