The Paris court decided on Monday May 23 to postpone until February 15 the trial of a conspiracy speaker suspected of online harassment of a scientist specializing in historical fake news, in particular for the time to carry out a psychiatric expertise of the defendant and to view the offending videos.
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Jacques Grimault, known for being the author of the film "
The revelation of the pyramids
", was to appear for the publication of 87 messages and 18 videos online between March and November 2021 implicating Faustine Boulay, president of the association for the fight against misinformation in history, art history and archaeology.
A “busy audience”
Fifteen minutes had been scheduled to examine the case of this 67-year-old man, who notably gave lectures for Equality and Reconciliation, a group of far-right essayist Alain Soral, during a "
busy hearing
".
The court therefore ordered a dismissal, considering this time insufficient.
Having only the written transcription of the impugned videos, he also requested that a working copy of the sealed USB key provided by the defense be made, to better appreciate the tone used.
The court also ordered a psychiatric expertise of Jacques Grimault, "
given the nature of the facts
".
A request supported by the prosecutor, to "
try to understand how it works and what makes it recurrently found in cases of defamation or harassment
", the speaker having been convicted twice in 2016 for defamation and public insult .
He also requested psychological expertise from Faustine Boulay, doctoral student in archeology and art history, to assess "
the possible impact
" on his health.
According to her lawyer, Marc Bensimhon, the young 33-year-old woman suffers from a severe anxiety-depressive syndrome and had to interrupt her thesis work.
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Very moved throughout the hearing, she burst into tears when Jacques Grimault claimed not to be the author of the publications attacking him.
During a conference in December 2019 on disinformation in archeology and art history, this specialist in ancient Egypt had taken as an example “
The revelation of the pyramids
”, which attributes the construction of these monuments to an extraterrestrial civilization. advanced.
She claims to have since suffered the "
wrath
" of this man, with often confused messages, including sexist and anti-Semitic insults and threats.
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