Cleared of kidnapping, Cassez back in France

Florence Cassez, the French woman who has been in prison in Mexico for seven years on a kidnapping conviction, is back in France. The ruling was overturned on the grounds that her trial was flawed. The 38-year-old was welcomed off the plane at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport by her mother and others close to her, and by foreign minister Laurent Fabius. Accompanied on the flight from the Tepepan jail for women by her father and lawyer, she embraced her brother on arrival. Appearing to be in good health, among the first remarks she made to the media were: “I believe I’ve been judged innocent. The Supreme Court said I was immediately free to go, without conditions… and I was always free in my head.” President François Hollande’s office said he would meet Florence Cassez and her family personally tomorrow evening. Her treatment strained ties between France and Mexico.