Father Bernard Preynat was definitively rejected on Wednesday of his appeal in the name of the presumption of innocence against the broadcast of the film "
Grace to God
" by François Ozon, the Court of Cassation having rejected his appeal.
Read also: Eight years in prison required against the former priest Bernard Preynat
The priest had taken justice in early 2019 to request the suspension of the exploitation of the feature film, which he accused of flouting his presumption of innocence while he had not yet been tried in this resounding case of pedophilia.
Inspired by the story of three men who accuse this former scout chaplain of having abused them thirty years ago, the film tells of their fight to form the association La Parole Libérée in order to bring the case to justice and denounce the inaction of the Church.
Awarded at the Berlin Festival, it was a great success with more than 900,000 admissions in France.
In February 2019, two days before the film's release, the Paris court rejected his request to ban this release until the final court decision.
In June of the same year, it was also dismissed on appeal of this request, which this time only concerned the future of the film on VOD, DVD and internationally, since it was no longer shown in theaters. .
Father Preynat then lodged an appeal in cassation, rejected this Wednesday: recalling the motivation of the court of appeal according to which the film was part of a "
debate of general interest
" and the fact that the presumption of innocence was recalled in a "
box
" before the credits, the Court confirmed that a suspension of broadcasting would have constituted a "
disproportionate
"
measure
.
“
The presumption of innocence forbids presenting a man as guilty and not only as having been found guilty.
Unfortunately, the Court ruled the opposite,
”regretted Me Emmanuel Mercinier-Pantalacci, the priest's lawyer.
“
Specific considerations prevailed over principles.
Beyond the particular interests in question, it is the violation of fundamental rights that is to be deplored,
”he added.
"
This is an extremely important decision since it reminds us that the right to the presumption of innocence and the right to freedom of expression have the same normative value
", on the contrary welcomed Me Paul-Albert Iweins, l 'one of the production advocates, who however does not see it as an "
open door to anything
": the "
balancing
" of these two principles is always done "
on a case-by-case basis
", He underlines.
