Image source, GettyImage caption, Federico Martin Ambaru was shot dead in Paris in March 2022
Two men with links to the far-right have been jailed over the fatal shooting of a former Argentine international rugby player in the streets of Paris four years ago.
Federico Martin Aramburu, who played more than twenty matches for Argentina, was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2022 after an early-morning fight broke out in a bar near Boulevard Saint-Germain.
Loik Le Priol, 32, a former soldier who fired the fatal shots, was sentenced to 26 years in jail. Romain Bouvier, 35, who opened fire initially, was sentenced to 19 years in jail.
In a Paris court on Friday, Le Priol asked Aramburu's family for forgiveness as the trial concluded.
"I'm Christian like you, the pope is here today" he said, referring to Pope Leo XIV's visit to France.
"I don't know if it's a sign... [I] hope one day you can find the strength to forgive me," Le Priol continued.
Former rugby star Aramburu was 42 when he was killed. He played for Argentina 22 times, including at the 2007 World Cup in France where he scored a try against the hosts to help his country finish third.
The player also had spells at French clubs Perpignan, Biarritz and Dax before joining Glasgow Warriors in 2010.
CCTV footage reviewed during the investigation showed Aramburu and his former rugby teammate, Shaun Hegarty, sitting at a bar opposite the former soldier, Le Priol, and his friend Bouvier on 19 March 2022.
Le Priol and Bouvier were both linked to a far-right extremist group at the time, which has since dissolved.
An altercation broke out between the two groups of men, the CCTV footage showed.
As the two former Rugby players walked off towards their hotel, Le Priol and Bouvier drove around to find them and opened fire. Aramburu died at the scene, Reuters reported.
Le Priol was subsequently arrested in Hungary while attempting to cross the border into Ukraine. He told Hungarian police at the time he was going to Ukraine to fight.
The defence cited post-traumatic stress disorder in Le Priol's case and childhood trauma in Bouvier's case.
But in court, Le Priol was described as "animated by the will to kill".
"The narcissistic, intrusive and uncontrollable rage of Loik Le Priol ultimately led to the gratuitous killing of Mr. Aramburu," the presiding judge said.
Meanwhile, Aramburu's widow Maria asked for a verdict that would allow her and Aramburu's three children "to build their lives as adults".
Ex-Argentina player Aramburu 'shot dead'
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