Strasbourg (France), June 21 (Reuters): The sister of an air hostess killed in a 1989 bomb attack today challenged the legal diplomatic immunity granted to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who has been blamed for the air disaster.

Beatrice Castelnau d’Essenault took her case to the European Court of Human Rights, saying France violated her rights by rejecting demands to bring Gaddafi to trial for the deaths of 170 passengers in the downing of the DC-10 jet over Niger.

“There can be no immunity for a sitting head of state in cases of serious crimes against people’s rights,” lawyer Didier Bouthors told the Strasbourg-based court, urging the tribunal to open a full review of the issue.