(RSF/IFEX) – On 18 September 1997, the penal court of Nice handed down a one month suspended sentence against Thierry Verret, president and director of publication of the weekly “L’Evenement du Jeudi”, for defaming the mayor of Nice, Jacques Peyrat. The conviction follows the publication in 1 August 1996 of an article in which an […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 18 September 1997, the penal court of Nice handed
down a one month suspended sentence against Thierry Verret,
president and director of publication of the weekly “L’Evenement
du Jeudi”, for defaming the mayor of Nice, Jacques Peyrat. The
conviction follows the publication in 1 August 1996 of an article
in which an editorial writer, using a pseudonym, made reference
to Peyrat having once belonged to the National Front party before
joining the Rassemblement pour la republique (RPR) party. Verret
was also ordered to pay 20 000 francs (approximately US$ 4500) in
damages and interst. He is appealing the decision.
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which is disproportionate to the crime
states that “detention, as a negative measure against the
peaceful expression of an opinion, constitutes one of the most
reprehensible ways to impose silence, and is thus a serious
violation of human rights”
European Court of Human Rights
Appeals To
Elisabeth Guigou
Minister of Justice
Paris, France
Fax: +1 44 77 61 99
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
