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French woman freed after killing abusive husband

Bernadette Dimet, 60, was given 5-year suspended sentence in trial that followed presidential pardon of another woman who killed husband.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

A French court handed a suspended five-year jail sentence on Friday to a woman who shot dead her abusive husband, less than a week after President François Hollande pardoned a woman jailed in a similar case, reports RFI.

Initially accused of murder, Bernadette Dimet, 60, was found guilty of committing voluntary violence leading to accidental death.

Prosecutor Thérèse Brunisso had sought eight years behind bars for Dimet, who shot her violent husband in a forest clearing with a hunting rifle in 2012 after an argument.

She advised the jury to ignore the case of 68-year-old Jacqueline Sauvage, who was pardoned on Sunday after becoming a cause celebre, with more than 400,000 people signing a petition demanding her release.

Sauvage, who was sentenced to 10 years for killing her abusive and rapist husband, will be able to leave prison in mid-April after having spent more than three years behind bars.

Testifying Thursday, Dimet told the court: "My intention was to commit suicide. He followed me and made me afraid. The shot just went off."

Read more of this report from RFI.