Sawt Falasteen - Activists on trial as France debates right to die

The defendants, aged 74 to 89, are members of Ultime Liberte (Ultimate Freedom), an association that fights to legalise assisted dying in France.

They are accused of helping dozens of people purchase pentobarbital, a drug used for physician-assisted suicide in countries such as Belgium and Switzerland, between August 2018 and November 2020.

Many of them are retired teachers with no criminal record, now facing charges of trafficking illegal substances.

If convicted, they risk up to 10 years in prison, although any sentences are expected to be much more lenient, given mitigating factors including their age.

Bernard Senet, a doctor on trial, said he had helped people who were suffering to die in better conditions.

"I am at peace because I do not feel guilty," he said.

In France, pentobarbital is only authorised to euthanise animals, while in the United States, the drug is used to carry out executions.

Few countries regulate assisted dying, and in many it remains a crime to help someone end their life, even in cases of severe and incurable suffering.

In May, France's lower house of parliament approved a right-to-die bill on first reading, the initial step in a lengthy process that could grant patients medical assistance to end their lives in clearly defined circumstances.

- 'We are satisfied' -

Outside the Paris court, members of the association rallied in support of the defendants.

"We are satisfied that there is a trial so that we can bring (the issue) to public attention," Monique Denis, the wife of one of the defendants, told AFP.

"And perhaps public opinion will come out in favour of changing the law," the 69-year-old added.

Ultime Liberte's campaign goes beyond the demands of traditional pro-euthanasia associations, advocating the right to control the manner and timing of death, whether terminally ill or not.

"Suicide has been decriminalised since the Revolution but there are many laws that prevent the freedom to commit suicide, non-violent suicide," Claude Hury, head of Ultime Liberte, told AFP ahead of the trial.

"Our goal is not to kill people," Hury said, but to help people die with dignity.

"It is to help them continue to age while being very serene about the end, provided they have this magic pill at home so they can stop when they decide to, rather than waiting for the medical diktat."

The investigation began in 2019 following a US report on a network that shipped pentobarbital worldwide, disguised in bottles labelled "natural cosmetics".

France carried out searches across the country in 2019, finding buyers who were mostly elderly or seriously ill people, though some suicides appeared unrelated to age or illness.

The investigation found that some members of the association accompanied those wishing to die by giving them information on how to order the drug or even helping them obtain it.

By sharing the information only with those who requested it, the activists did not intend to "encourage or facilitate a decision to commit suicide" but rather to "accompany" that decision, said the investigating judge.

One member said he joined the association after a relative used the group to end their life.

"I am here to see if I can help in some way, so that when I'm 80 and ill, I won't have to do it behind closed doors," said the 61-year-old, releasing only his first name, Franck.

France's draft law would allow assisted dying only in an "advanced" stage of illness, which it defines as an irreversible and worsening health condition affecting someone's quality of life.

If approved, France would join a small group of European countries that give the right to aid in dying, including Austria, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.

The trial is set to conclude on October 9.

T.Khatib--SF-PST