WOMAN SETS HERSELF AFIRE ON THREAT TO DEPORT PARTNER FROM FRANCE

Agence France Presse
October 18, 2008 Saturday 5:49 PM GMT

A woman suffered serious burns Saturday after setting herself on fire
to protest threats to repatriate her partner from France to Armenia,
police said.

Josiane Nardi, 60, was being treated for third-degree burns at a
hospital in Tours, central France, after dousing herself with a
flammable liquid in front of a detention centre in nearby Le Mans,
regional officials said.

"We are very worried about her state of health," regional administrator
Michel Camux told reporters.

Nardi had arranged to meet local media about the fate of her
companion. But they said they were unaware of her intention to set
herself alight and unable to prevent her from doing so.

One reporter was taken to hospital suffering from shock, another with
slight burns to a hand.

"She took out a bottle of alcohol, and when we approached her, it
was too late," said a witness.

An illegal immigrant, Nardi’s 31-year-old partner Henrik Grujyan had
been serving a two-year jail sentence for different crimes before
being transferred Saturday to a pre-deportation centre.

His expulsion has been delayed by at least 48 hours owing to Nardi’s
action.