The former number 1 in the fight against drugs, François Thierry, who was suing for defamation the authors of a book denouncing the troubled methods of the service he headed, was sentenced on Friday February 18 by the Paris court for proceedings abusive.
Read alsoThe L214 association obtains a legal victory against the gendarmerie
The former boss of the Central Office for the Suppression of Illicit Drug Trafficking (Ocrtis) was ordered to pay 2,000 euros in damages to journalist Emmanuel Fansten and his editor.
The co-author of the offending book, former police officer Hubert Avoine, who was also being prosecuted by François Thierry, died in October 2018. Published in March 2017, the book "
L'infiltré
" followed an investigation by Emmanuel Fansten published in Liberation.
The journalist described in particular "
the central role
" of François Thierry, "
in the importation into France of several tens of tons of cannabis in connection with one of the largest European traffickers
".
Read alsoJohn Vinocur, the American journalist who loved France
François Thierry, narcotics boss from 2010 to 2016, had already sued Emmanuel Fansten and his newspaper following this investigation.
In November 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal acquitted the journalist and ordered the police officer to pay him compensation.
François Thierry, who had launched proceedings against the authors of "
The infiltrator
" in May 2017, had finally abandoned the procedure in January 2022. The court denounced "
the late nature
" of this withdrawal even though the former head of narcotics persisted in his accusations against the authors of the book without giving them the opportunity to explain themselves to the judges because of his withdrawal.
“
François Thierry abused his right to take legal action and caused the defendants prejudice
“, ruled the court in pronouncing his sentence.
The book
L'infiltré
was recently adapted for the cinema, under the title
Enquête sur un scandale d'Etat
, directed by Thierry de Peretti and released in theaters at the beginning of February.
