French farmer detained again for helping migrants

A French farmer who became a symbol of the migrant crisis for helping Africans sneak across the border from Italy has been detained again, his lawyer said Thursday. Cedric Herrou, a 37-year-old organic olive farmer, has been hailed as a hero by some and branded irresponsible by others for driving migrants across the border and then giving them accommodation. He was let off with a suspended fine of 3,000 euros ($3,300) in February after going on trial charged with assisting some 200 illegal immigrants, most of them Sudanese and Eritreans. He was unrepentant at the time, saying he would not stop helping people who had come to Europe. "How can you sleep when people are stuck outside in the rain?" he said. His lawyer Zia Oloumi told AFP Herrou was now in custody again, having been arrested on Wednesday. "He is accused of assisting the entry, movement and residence of illegal immigrants," she said, adding that Herrou was detained after going to answer police questions about two underage migrants who had arrived at his door. Herrou had flagged up the two youngsters' cases to authorities, she added. Police were not immediately able to comment. Herrou is one of several people to appear in court in southern France in recent months charged with illegally assisting migrants who have travelled up through Europe after crossing the Mediterranean in rickety boats. Since the beginning of the year, more than 77,000 people have tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, according to the UN's refugee agency, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 2,000 people are believed to have drowned making the perilous crossing.