The Lyon court examined Tuesday, November 16 the case of two fifty-year-old brothers, prosecuted for "
defamation
" by their father whom they denounced last January on Facebook for alleged incestuous sexual assault during childhood.
The judgment was reserved for January 18.
Read alsoIn Nantes, victims of incest testify to outrages and shame
"
I completely refute these facts because they were not possible
", declared at the bar the plaintiff, 77, a former notable of the region of Chambéry, detailing the configuration of the rooms of the family home at the time.
"
I can not stand when all this is public and when the name of my parents is dirty,
" he added, calling for the conviction of his two sons, now aged 50 and 52. .
"For forty years he has carried this burden"
On January 22, 2021, the youngest son had published on his Facebook account a text preceded by the hashtag #mettooincest, claiming that he had been the victim of incestuous acts by his father in the 80s. He explained that he had was able to free himself thanks to Camille Kouchner's book, “
La familia grande
”, dealing in his family with alleged sexual assault by a loved one. The older brother had then posted a comment, accompanied by the same hashtag, writing: "this
is my brother
", followed by a heart, then: "this
is my father
" with the emoticon of the devil's head.
“
Should media justice, Internet justice, decide its fate?
", Questioned at the hearing the lawyer of the plaintiff, Thomas Fourrey, reproaching the children to have used the social networks"
to settle accounts in the face of the world
". "
For forty years he has carried this burden (...) He needed to lift a taboo
", retorted the defense of the youngest son. The latter, after the initiation of the defamation proceedings, had filed a complaint for sexual assault but the case had been closed because of the limitation period.
In his hearing, he detailed the alleged touching he had suffered in the parental bed, and the long therapies he had followed to get out of his discomfort.
His older brother had for his part attested to the influence of the father in a conflicting family context.
The public prosecutor, Alain Grellet, suggested to the court to be lenient with regard to children "
in suffering
".
"
Good faith must be applied with more tolerance for individuals, compared to press professionals
," said the magistrate, paving the way for an acquittal.
