Israel Matzav

France 2 critic convicted of defamation, fined

Philippe Karsenty has been convicted of defamation by a French court for claiming that France 2's Charles Enderlin fabricated at least part of the 'death' of Muhammad al-Dura.

A Paris court fined Philippe Karsenty 7,000 euros (NIS 33,000) in the defamation case filed by network France 2. Karsenty accused the network’s Jerusalem bureau chief, Charles Enderlin, of fabricating parts of the segment.

The 55 seconds of edited footage, broadcast on September 30, 2000, showed the terrified boy, Mohammed al-Dura, and his father amid a furious exchange of fire in the Gaza Strip. It then cut to the boy slumped in his father’s lap. The report blamed Israeli forces for the death.

Karsenty called the verdict “outrageous.” A lawyer for France 2 said it was a victory for journalists.

Karsenty was convicted of libel in 2006, a judgment that was overturned on appeal in 2008.

France 2 subsequently appealed that appeal at the “Cour de cassation,” France’s highest court.

Last year, the Cour de cassation annulled the ruling acquitting Karsenty of libel in 2008.

Last month, an official Israeli government report concluded that al-Dura was not harmed by Israeli forces and did not die in the exchange of fire.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who commissioned the report in 2012, said the accusations aired on France 2 were “a manifestation of the ongoing, mendacious campaign to delegitimize Israel.”

I sure hope this can be appealed. The fine is small but  it's outrageous.

Labels: France 2, Mohamed al-Dura, Phillippe Karsenty

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:25 PM