Traitor Condemned

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 359, 21 May 1928, Page 11

Traitor Condemned

BETRAYED NURSE CAVELL A Fortress For Life “AMONG the victims that this man betrayed were eleven women, a little peasant girl and the heroic Nurse Cavell” -—such was the grave charge made against Jules Laperre, the Belgian super-spy, who, after a. four-days’ trial at Seine Assizes, was sentenced to imprisonment for life in a fortress abroad.

This probably means that Laperre, ■who had no scruple in betraying his compatriots and neighbours to the Germans daring the enemy occupation ot Belgium, will be sent to Devil’s Island, the French penal colony, of which so many sinister tales have been told. Laperre has already been sentenced to death in his absence by the Belgian courts. The Seine Court jury returned their verdict of guilty without extenuating circumstances after a very brief consultation among themselves. The precise charge against Laperre was one of having been an agent of the German espionage service in occupied Belgium during the war, and betraying his fellow-countrymen and escaped Allied war prisoners to the Germans. Victims as Witnesses At the beginning of his trial Laperre, pleading not guilty, denied all the accusations made against him, but in lace of the amount of evidence brought forward by dozens of witnesses, most of them Belgians, who were his victims, and narrowly escaped being shot by the Germans, Laperre began to lose his assurance. He pleaded that “if he returned little services of no consequence” to the Germans during the occupation of Belgium, it was because he was compelled to do so in fear of being shot.” One of the witnesses, M. Wyss, related how Laperre called upon him in June, 191 S, and introduced himself as “an Allied courier.” He offered to take messages across the Dutch frontier. Invisible Ink Trap Mr. Wyss accepted the offer, and was given by Laperre a bottle of special invisible ink. ‘‘ln front of Laperre, I hid the bottle in my dressing room. The following day German police officials came in, and went straight to the hiding-place, where they found the bottle. I was arrested, and sentenced to 10 years’ hard labour. I am sure I was betrayed by Laperre. He was the only Person who knew where I had placed the bottle.” Remarkable evidence was given by M. Pholien. chief public prosecutor at the court of Brussels, who related how he organised the Belgian counterespionage service in his invaded conntry• He described how his fellowcountrymen helped to smuggle into

Holland Allied war prisoners and messengers carrying information to the Allied armies. Price on His Head “The Germans tried very hard to stop us, and,” he added, pointing to Laperre, “if there had not been men like that we should not have had 800 of our fellow-countrymen shot by the Germans.” “Was not a price ppt on your head?” the presiding judge asked M. Pholien. “Yes,” was the reply, “a price of 25,000 marks, and I had to hide myself in a wood, where I spent the whole of the winter, and remained until the armistice was signed.” The last witness called by the defence was Laperre’s wife. When she came forward to the witness-box she glanced at her husbayi, put her hands to her heart, and cbllapsed without having said a word. She had to be attended by a doctor.