PARIS: Former French president Jacques Chirac was accused of “treason” on Wednesday for allegedly helping the government of Djibouti cover up the truth behind the 1995 death of a French judge.

Elisabeth Borrel, who believes her husband Bernard Borrel was murdered by Djibouti agents, said 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.

Her accusation came a day after documents were made public which appeared to show that in 2005 Chirac advised Guelleh to take France before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague over the French criminal investigation into Borrel's death.

Flanked by her lawyers, Elisabeth Borrel appealed to Chirac’s successor Nicolas Sarkozy to “make a commitment to ensure the respect of those principles which alone will see the murderers of my husband identified and brought to justice.” “It was Chirac himself who suggested to Djibouti's president to take France before the ICJ,” said her lawyer Olivier Morice.—AFP