The co-president of the antispecialist association 269 Life Animal Liberation was sentenced Thursday, January 13 in Paris to a suspended fine of 1000 euros for defamation against the meat interprofessional Interbev, for comments made during a demonstration in October 2016 The National Interprofessional Association of Cattle and Meat lodged a complaint in early 2017 against part of the speech - then posted online - delivered on October 28, 2016 by Tiphaine Lagarde, during a rally in front of the organization's headquarters.
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The court released the activist for part of the statements prosecuted, in which she declared in particular that Interbev "
[puts] war and blood on our children's plates
", referring to "
all these animals that survive in concentration camps
", Or even"
sordid farms where the animals only survive
".
Regarding these remarks, the 17th correctional chamber of the Paris court considered that if they are "
of great violence
", they come under "
an opinion
" on the part of an "
activist of the animal cause
" and no 'not impute a "
precise fact
To Interbev, as assumed by the libel offense.
On the other hand, the court ruled that the rest of the statements prosecuted, which denounced "
speciesist propaganda in schools
", were defamatory.
Antispeciesists oppose any hierarchy between species, especially between humans and animals.
"
We will not let the powerful lobbies of animal exploitation indoctrinate our children
", "
Interbev, you should be ashamed, because you use all the tools of dictatorships and totalitarian ideologies
", had launched, among others, Tiphaine Lagarde.
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If the court stressed that the subject was "
of general interest
" and that these words had been pronounced in a "
militant context
", it noted that the defendant did not mention "
any factual element
" to the support for his remarks "
particularly virulent
", which "
can therefore be likened to a personal attack directed against Interbev
". Tiphaine Lagarde was also ordered to pay one euro in damages as well as 2,000 euros in legal costs.
His lawyer, Me Thomas Hellenbrand, did not wish to react for lack of being able to learn about the reasons for the decision.
"
We see that the court handed down a sentence at the lowest possible level
," he said, adding that he reserved the opportunity to appeal.
"
For the industry and breeders in particular, it is a relief to see that the law effectively allows a minimum of the comments that can be made to be framed, to allow a serene debate around these questions of anti-speciesism and welfare. to be animal
, ”responded Interbev's lawyer, Me Pierre Morrier.
