A suspect in the 2011 lynching of a young DJ in a Paris suburb has been released because a fax machine ran out of ink, prosecutors confirmed on Thursday.

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The man was reportedly freed because staff at a Paris court of appeal were unable to read a fax containing his appeal before the legal deadline expired.

Claudy Elisor, a 33-year-old DJ, was beaten to death in the early hours of January 1, 2011, by a group of people he had refused to let into his New Year’s Eve party.

His widow, Fabienne Elisor, said on Thursday she was outraged by the blunder, telling French daily Le Parisien she would “hold the justice system to account”.

Reacting to the furore, France’s Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said she had ordered an investigation into the case.

“Electronic communications are not yet authorised in criminal cases,” she told reporters in the south-western city of Bordeaux, adding that proposed legislation to amend such rules was being examined by the French parliament.



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