Powered by WebAds

Friday, June 28, 2013

Why the French court convicted Karsenty of libel in the al-Dura case

Incredibly, the reason that a French court found Philippe Karsenty guilty of libel for calling the al-Dura case 'faked' is that the French Supreme Court ordered the lower court not to consider any exculpatory evidence.
This week the Paris Court of Appeals disgraced itself and revealed the dark side of France’s arcane laws of defamation, elevating the principle of French honor above the value of truth-telling for French journalists. The appellate court’s sentencing of Philippe Karsenty to a fine of 7,000 Euros for the “crime” of speaking truth to power telegraphs how France has decided to treat whistle-blowers who have the temerity to demand that state-sponsored media outlets differentiate between theater and news. Perhaps this second panel of the appellate court was not entirely at fault for its misstep. It operated with blinders, since the French Supreme Court forbade it from viewing the relevant evidence that led the first panel of the court to acquit Karsenty. For the French legal system, the facts of what happened at Netzarim were and are essentially irrelevant. This case was not about getting at the truth, but about protecting the honor of French institutions.
Read the whole thing. Simply incredible.

Labels: , , , , ,

1 Comments:

At 6:14 AM, Blogger Shy Guy said...

France, a shi*ty little country.

Always has been. Always will be.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

Google