A lawyer acting on behalf of the husband and parents of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, the French woman who was murdered in west Cork in December 1996, reacted cautiously last night to the release of a man arrested earlier by gardai for questioning in connection with the murder.
The family had previously ex- pressed impatience at what it perceived to be the slow pace of Irish justice and a lack of co-operation on the part of Irish authorities. "The family at the moment wants to be discreet in its comments," the lawyer, Mr Alain Spilliaert, said last night.
"They are waiting to see what will happen - what the police or prosecutor will say after the questioning which was not followed by charges. The family is watching very closely everything that is happening in the case in Ireland."
The English national who was taken into custody in west Cork early yesterday morning was re leased shortly after 8 p.m. without being charged. As he left Bandon Garda station, he was surrounded by the media, including French TV reporters. His only comment was: "I am blinded by the light".
It is uunderstood a special team of Garda investigators who brought the man - who is in his 50s - in for questioning under the Criminal Justice Act, spent the day going over events which led to Ms du Plantier's death.
At the end of a 12-hour session, gardai would only say he had been released and that papers were already with the Director of Public Prosecutions. A statement said further information would be forwarded to the DPP.
An extensive murder hunt, which has lasted 13 months, followed the discovery of Ms du Plantier's body in a laneway near her holiday home at Toormore, Goleen, on December 23rd, 1996. She had been savagely beaten and had suffered multiple injuries.
The neighbourhood was deeply shocked at the news of her violent death. A massive Garda hunt for her murderer led to numerous people being interviewed throughout west Cork.
Last month, Mr Spilliaert's colleague, Mr Paul Haennig, severely criticised the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, for failing to respond to requests for information from a French magistrate.
Asked yesterday if co-operation between Irish and French police was better now, Mr Spilliart said: "The only thing that improved was the way the family were received in Ireland. The Minister for Justice came to see them, as a kind of apology to the parents, but as far as co-operation goes, there is nothing new that I know of."