Ex-president of France Shirak will not be able to face trial due to poor health

Former French president, 78-year-old Jacques Shirak, said that he could not appear at the hearing in his case in Paris due to poor health, AFP reports. Shirak sent a letter to the court in which he advocated the continuation of the trial and asked the judges to allow lawyers to represent his interests in court and make statements on his behalf.

A copy of Shirak’s medical card was attached to the letter. It says that the ex-president has mental fatigue that does not allow him to answer the questions of judges about his past, Interfax reports.

The medical report also provides statements by the Friends of the ex-president that in recent months he had had fails in his memory.

According to the Air Force , the court hearing in the Shirak case may be postponed indefinitely due to his state of health.

Shirak is accused of embezzlement of public funds and in abuse of trust.

The next hearing in his case is scheduled for September 5. The court should consider the issue of whether he really created fictitious jobs in the years, when even before the president he was elected, he was the mayor of Paris. According to the prosecution, in total, 28 such jobs were created in the city hall on the initiative of Shirak. If the ex-president is found guilty, then he faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of 150 thousand euros.