French agents 'were murderers', says daughter

Saboteurs Dominique Prieur (left) and Alain Mafart

The woman left fatherless by the bombing has spoken of her anguish at the light sentence the French agents received.

Marelle Pereira, now 28, was 8 when her father, Fernando, was killed in 1985.

Speaking on TVNZ's Sunday programme, Ms Pereira said she was unhappy that the agents were charged with manslaughter when her father had been "murdered".

The two French agents jailed for the bombing, Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges and were sentenced to 10 years in jail.

As part of a deal brokered, France paid compensation and the pair were sent to a French military base, but were free by mid-1988.

The Sunday programme also said a third agent had admitted his involvement in "Operation Satanic". Louis Dallias, who lives in Washington DC, said he regretted that someone had died but that he was following orders.

Ms Pereira will take part in ceremonies next month to mark the anniversary.