Judge Bernard Borrel()

PARIS, July 12, 2007 - French judges investigating the 1995 death of a French judge in Djibouti have searched the homes of a former presidential adviser on Africa, a source close to the case said Wednesday.

The judges this week searched residences in Paris and in the southern town of Lamanon belonging to Michel de Bonnecorse, who was head of the Africa department in former president Jacques Chirac's office.

They are investigating allegations by Elisabeth Borrel, who believes her husband Bernard Borrel was murdered by Djibouti agents and that France helped Djibouti authorities cover up the crime.

Borrel's widow maintains that France cooperated with President Ismael Omar Guelleh's efforts to bury the affair because of fears of losing its military base in the tiny east African state.

During the search at the Bonnecorse residences, a notebook was confiscated, sources said.

Borrel's half-burned body was found at the foot of a ravine 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the town of Djibouti in October 1995. He had been working on secondment to the Djibouti justice ministry.

A former military intelligence officer has testified that Borrel was investigating Guelleh, who was then a candidate for the presidency, before his death, according to an affidavit shown to AFP.

Borrel's widow last month accused Chirac of "treason" for allegedly helping the government of Djibouti cover up the truth behind her husband's death and urged his successor Nicolas Sarkozy to help her get to the bottom of the case.

Source: AFP