Mexican Supreme Court releases Canadian Cynthia Vanier, once again on narrow legal technicalities

Florence Cassez, reloaded

*Updated Apr. 27*
Guadalajara -
In a stunning rebuke to federal prosecutors, Mexico's Supreme Judicial Court today ordered the immediate release of Canadian national Cynthia Ann Vanier, who was held in custody for almost 18 months on charges she tried to smuggle one of the sons of the late Muammar Gaddafi into Mexico as his father's Libyan regime collapsed in 2011.

The court also freed an accused co-conspirator, a Mexican citizen, one of the four defendants in a curious case which angered Mexican officials and embarrassed Canadian ones.

Vanier had been held in a jail in Chetumal, in Quintana Roo state, most of the time since her arrest. Her trial there began months ago and was reported to be nearing an end, but she continued to seek emergency legal relief, contending that she had been denied prompt access to an attorney and that Mexican prosecutors had failed to promptly notify Canadian diplomatic authorities after her detention.

In an opinion released today the Supreme Court agreed with those arguments and granted Vanier's petition for amparo, a legal procedure similar to the Anglo-American writ of habeas corpus. Mexico moves towards greater recognition of legal rights, with special focus on criminal prosecutions.

The court did not review or address the merits of Vanier's case. In other words, it did not touch upon the evidence against her, or the question of her factual guilt or innocence. But last January search warrant documents released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police painted a powerful case against the accused Mount Forest, Ontario woman, who has listed her profession as "conflicts negotiator and conciliator." RCMP criminal affidavit lends strong support to Mexico's case against Cynthia Vanier.

Today's ruling mirrors a highly controversial decision by the Supreme Court 90 days ago, when it agreed by a tight 3-2 majority to free a French woman held in custody for over seven years on a charge of kidnapping and organized crime activity. Mexico's Supreme Court orders Florence Cassez freed. The Cassez case and the years of litigation surrounding it became a cause célèbre in both Mexico and France, and severely tested their long friendship. No justice for Mexicans in Florence Cassez ruling. A primary basis of the Court's ruling was that prosecutors had delayed notifying French consular officials after Cassez' 2005 arrest. Treaties between Mexico and most nations, as well as international law, require such notification to protect the legal rights of accused foreigners.

In the Gaddafi case Vanier and her alleged co-conspirators were charged with possession of false documents, human trafficking and organized crime activity. A Mexican judge completed a preliminary review of the case and found sufficient evidence for a trial on Jan. 31, 2012, and issued formal arrest warrants for the four suspects the same day. The RCMP investigation suggested that Vanier may have pocketed as much as three quarters of a million dollars for her role in the bizarre caper, which allegedly included plans to set up Gaddafi family members in expensive Pacific coast homes using bogus Mexican passports and manufactured identities. A long paper trail demonstrated she was the hub of the conspiracy.

Saadi Gaddafi never made it to Mexico. He fled Libya when the regime collapsed and was later detained in Niger. Saadi was a prominent businessman in the country during his father's brutal 42 year reign. He controlled military units during the 2011 civil uprising, which resulted in Muammar's capture and execution in October of that year.

Vanier faced years in custody if convicted. At a 2012 court appearance she claimed that she had been "physically, mentally and emotionally" abused by penal authorities while in the remote facility near Mexico's border with Belize. She had been denied bail due to the seriousness of the offense. Canadian pleads not guilty; alleges abuse in Mexican jail.

But tonight, Cynthia Ann Vanier is a free woman.

MGR's view - The wisdom of this hyper-technical ruling, the second of its kind by the Supreme Court in 2013, can be debated endlessly by legal scholars, and both sides of the argument will find ready advocates. The failure-to-notify-consular-officials strategy has never gained much traction in American criminal law, as explained here. In this case, some will surely conclude that a joint Mexican-Canadian desire to be done with the whole mess greased the path for today's ruling. Ms. Vanier will jet off to Canada, no doubt, where she will spend months testifying against alleged corporate sponsors of the Gaddafi relocation plan before various Crown investigating commissions and legislative panels. At the end of the day she may wish that she was still bivouacked along the Riviera Maya coast, courtesy of the Republic of Mexico. When you're exhausted nothing is better than frijol, warm tortillas and a well chilled Sol, followed by some quiet hammock time.

Apr. 19 - Canada's La Presse had this to say: Cynthia Vanier est libérée d'une prison mexicaine

Apr. 27 - Yet another member of the alleged Gaddafi conspiracy has been freed by court order. Pierre Christian Flensborg, a Danish national, was charged with attempted human trafficking in 2011, at the same time Vanier and others were arrested. Prosecutors said he was a key logistical operative in the plot. Yesterday a federal appellate panel in Mexico City granted him an order of amparo, throwing out most of the government's case, which consisted heavily of email and electronic communications with other participants. The court ruled that the evidence against Flensborg was obtained without "judicial authorization," i.e., a valid search warrant.

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