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Princess Di paparazzi fined
22/02/2006 15:26 - (SA)
Paris - A French court has ordered three
photographers to pay €1 in damages for breaching privacy
laws when taking pictures of Princess Diana on the night of her
fatal crash, according to a ruling made available on Wednesday.
The single euro divided between the trio will be paid to
Mohamed al Fayed, the Egyptian-born millionaire and father of
Dodi al Fayed, Diana's companion who also died in the crash.
Diana, Dodi and chauffeur Henri Paul were killed on August
31 1997 when their Mercedes car crashed in a tunnel as it sped
away from the Ritz hotel in the French capital with paparazzi
photographers in hot pursuit on motorbikes.
The photographers were sentenced on Friday after the Paris
appeals court overturned earlier rulings and decided that the
three had invaded the couple's privacy twice during the evening.
The first time was while taking pictures near the Ritz hotel
and the second was by taking photos of the Princess after the
accident in the Alma tunnel.
The decision comes after a long legal battle for the
photographers Jacques Langevin, Christian Martinez and Eric
Chassery.
France's highest appeals court said last April they must be
retried after an earlier ruling had acquitted them.
Mohamed al Fayed had appealed against that earlier ruling,
which followed an original court acquittal of the three
photographers in November 2003.
An inquiry by French authorities in 1999 ruled that the
crash was caused by Paul being drunk and driving too fast.
But the circumstances of the crash still cause controversy.
Al Fayed, owner of London store Harrods, wants the paparazzi
punished and has said he believes his son and Diana were
murdered by British secret services because their relationship
was embarrassing the royal household.
Diana's marriage to Britain's heir to the throne Prince
Charles broke down in 1992 and ended in divorce. Charles married
his longtime lover Camilla Parker Bowles last year.
- Reuters
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