Allow me first to say that I have no stake, directly or indirectly, in this case. Many interesting questions have been raised regarding flight Yemenia 626.
Most victims were French -holders of dual French/Comorian nationality, French citizens of Comorian ascent and Comorian citizens residing in France -. Furthermore, Flight 626 (Yemen/Comoros) was a connecting flight of Yemenia. Most of the passengers originated from Paris, where they had boarded Yemenia Flight 749, operating an Airbus A330-200. Following a stop in Marseille, Flight 749 arrived at Sana'a International Airport in Sana'a, Yemen, where passengers transferred to Yemenia Flight 626 bound for Moroni, Comoros.
As such, the tickets of most of the victims were either a “Paris/Morini” or a “Marseille/Moroni”, delivered by Yemenia, in France. I will spare you the excruciating details dealing with Yemenia’s terms of provision of service, but the French justice applies the simple argument that Yemenia is directly or indirectly involved in the death of French citizens and residents. Hence the criminal nature of Yemenia’s indictement and the de-facto competence of the French courts.
The decision to legally challenge Yemenia in France is obviously a call of judgement made by the French justice, likely influenced by several other factors:
- While it’s competence appears obvious, the Comorian judicial system does not operate to acceptable western standards;
- The somewhat “complicated” relations between Comoro and France -namely several french-sponsored "coup" attempts- creates a situation in which French nationals could be at a disadvantage in Comorian courts;
- The same reasoning applies to the Yemeni justice, to which Yemenia’s TOPOS would probably refer;
- The near total lack of technical cooperation between Yemen and Comoro, observed during the safety investigation, is likely to continue at the judicial level. Understandably, Yemen’s stance appears to be very protective of Yemenia’s interests;
- The very nature of Yemenia’s activities makes it possible for the French authorities to exercise some degree of leverage, nationaly and within the Shengen area, encouraging Yemenia’s representation in court.
In the light of those elements, the French authorities decided that justice for the victims and the survivor would best be served by the French courts. That decision could have been different if the crash had happened , for instance, in Belgium…
For those of you interested in the details of the exchanges between Yemeni, Comorian and French authorities during the safety investigation, you can consult the key elements
here, mostly in English. They are a vivid reflection of the rather uncooperative spirit that presided during the enquiry.