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Benalla case: assigned by Mediapart, the State condemned for gross negligence

2022-07-06T18:29:43.717Z


The State will have to pay the investigation site one euro in “full compensation for its damage”, to which are added 10,000 euros in application of article 700 of the code of civil procedure.


The Nanterre court condemned the State on Wednesday July 6 for gross negligence for the attempted search carried out in 2019 at the premises of Mediapart in the context of the Benalla affair which, according to its judgment consulted by AFP, undermined freedom of expression and secrecy of sources.

The disputed search was neither necessary in a democratic society, nor proportionate to the objective pursued within the meaning of the case law of the ECHR (European Court of Human Rights

” on freedom of the press, considered the court According to the judges, this search "

therefore constituted an interference in the freedom of expression (...) all the more serious as a risk of breach of the secrecy of the sources can only be conceived in exceptional circumstances

". Assigned by Mediapart, the State was ordered to pay the investigation site one euro in "

full compensation for its damage

», to which are added 10,000 euros in application of article 700 of the code of civil procedure (court costs), with an order for the provisional execution of the judgment.

Read alsoThe Benalla affair, the story of a fall that shook the state

"Invasion of privacy"

The Nanterre court rejected the request for publication on the Ministry of Justice website requested by Mediapart.

On January 31, 2019, the site published sound clips of a conversation between the former Élysée project manager Alexandre Benalla and the former employee of En Marche!

Vincent Crase dated July 26, four days after their indictment in the May 1, 2018 violence case and in violation of their judicial review.

The prosecution had, in the following days, opened an investigation for “

illegal possession of devices or technical devices likely to allow the realization of interception of telecommunications or conversations

” and “

invasion of the intimacy of private life

".

In this context, two prosecutors and three police officers had tried to search the premises of Mediapart, to have the recordings returned, an initiative strongly denounced by the site, several media and the opposition.

Read also Benalla's lawyer sees in him "

the ideal prey

"

For the Nanterre court, these investigations "

necessarily implied access to the medium and its possible metadata which are likely to allow, directly or not, the identification of the source

", leading to "

the risk, undoubtedly reduced with regard to the stated but nonetheless conceivable objective of accidentally revealing other sources

”.

In view of the nature of the freedom exercised and the interference with one of its pillars, the disproportionality adopted implies in itself the existence of abnormal, special and serious prejudice.

“say the judges.

At the time, the site's president, Edwy Plenel, recalled that before the search attempt, Mediapart had undertaken to hand over a copy of the recordings to the courts, which the site did on February 4, 2019. Contacted on Wednesday by AFP, Mediapart's lawyer did not respond immediately.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-07-06

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