Moroccan gardener imprisoned for murder in France to be freed

The French justice minister announced Wednesday that all conditions are gathered for the liberation of Omar Raddad, a 36-year old Moroccan gardener who was sentenced in 1994 to a 18-year prison term for a murder he has always denied.

According to French news agency "AFP," the Justice Ministry confirmed that Raddad, who was entitled to be freed last February, thanks to a "partial" amnesty that he was granted by French president Jacques Chirac would be released over the weekend.

Raddad's indictment in the murder of his boss, Ghislaine Marshal, was disputed by several intellectual and judiciary circles in France who criticized the lack of evidence. His lawyer, Jacques Verges, decried racist motivations behind his indictment.

The attorney said he would send to judiciary authorities the results of a graphological (hand writing) analysis of the message "Omar m'a tuer," supposedly written by the victim with her own blood. The lawyer said the analysis reveals that it was not Marshal who wrote the message that accused Raddad of killing her.