Le Monde Libel Case
On 31 October 1985, the French newspaper Le Monde published an article by Edwy Plenel alleging that Captain Paul Barril had "supplied the incriminating evidence" in the Vincennes case. The article was based on the testimony of Jean-François Jegat during questioning by the French intelligence service (Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire – DST) on other matters. Jegat alleged that he had supplied the explosive material and handguns found in the Vincennes flat to Barril.
On 21 March 1991, Le Monde published a lengthy follow-up article entitled Irlandais de Vincennes: les cachoteries de l'Elysée (The Irishmen in Vincennes: an Elysée cover-up ), which further alleged that secret documents known to the executive had been withheld from the courts. The article referred to Beau and Jegat's evidence (which they were not due to give for several months), an internal memorandum from the Presidential office regarding Jegat, and Jegat's record of interview with the DST. On 26 April 1991, Barril brought libel proceedings against Le Monde, its editor-in-chief, and the journalist Plenel, in the French Criminal Court for libel of a public official. In May, Le Monde applied to prove its allegation to the court by providing documents and naming witnesses. In November, the paper withdrew part of its application, notably the request to call Prouteau as a witness. In addition, the court ordered a stay of proceedings pending the decision in the criminal cases against Beau and Jegat which had prevented them from giving evidence in the libel case.
On 17 September 1992, the court noted that Plenel's story in Le Monde had been "one of the most serious allegations possible against a public official", and that it had certainly impacted if not destroyed Barril's professional and personal reputation, however it dismissed his assertion that his lack of a conviction over the matter meant that the allegations were without basis. Reviewing the documents provided by Le Monde, and hearing evidence from Beau and Jegat, the court found that the allegations were proven true and dismissed the criminal and civil case against the newspaper.
In March 2003, the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation annulled the judicial proceedings against Barril on procedural grounds. The Court of Appeal criticised the lower court's judgement, in which it was stated that it was an "undeniable fact" that no charge had been brought against Barril, thereby prohibiting anyone from implicating him in the case in any way. It also dismissed Barril's appeal, on the grounds that as no charges were brought against him, and the lower court had ruled in the case based solely on the Press Law, that there was no basis for his claim that the presumption of innocence had been violated.
Read more about this topic: Irish Of Vincennes
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