The Photo France Does Not Want You To See

The photo of Ilan Halimi whose publication by the magazine Choc is supposed to represent such a scandal in France has in fact already been shown in the French media. (On the photo, see my earlier report here.) In an interview yesterday on France’s Europe1 radio, Choc editor-in-chief Paul Payan pointed out that the photo of Ilan Halimi – “and others that are even more harrowing” – was already shown in 2006 on the French television network M6. Youssouf Fofana, the chief of the “Gang of Barbarians” that kidnapped Ilan, is known to have sent several photos to Ilan’s girlfriend and family during Ilan’s captivity and before he was murdered. The photos were included in an episode devoted to the crime on the M6 news magazine “Secrets d’Actualité”.

The revelation that the photo has already been shown raises new questions about the decision of a Parisian court to prohibit further sale of the Choc issue. The publisher of Choc will be fined €200 for each issue of Choc that remained on the newsstands after 2 pm today (Friday). In a hearing on Wednesday, Pauline Caby, representing the public prosecutor’s office, admitted that the inclusion of the photo in the “Secrets d’Actualité” episode had “escaped the notice” of the prosecutor’s office. She argued, however, that “the previous display of the photo does not create a right to its subsequent dissemination” and “does not negate the offense to human dignity that it represents” (Source: LCI). M6, it should be noted, regularly tops the French television rating charts.

In ruling against Choc, Judge Philippe Jean-Draeher is reported to have found the “manifestly illicit disturbance” caused by the publication of the photo to be particularly dire in light of the ongoing trial against the “Gang of Barbarians” (Source: AP France/Nouvel Observateur). The trial has been closed to both the public and the press. The judge’s specification amounts to a virtual admission that publicity concerning the case is unwanted and that this consideration figured in the court’s reasoning.

As noted in my previous report, the complaint against Choc was jointly filed by the public prosecutor’s office and Francis Szpiner, the highly-connected Parisian attorney who represents Ilan Halimi’s mother Ruth. Szpiner also represented French public television network France 2 and correspondent Charles Enderlin in their famous “Al-Dura” defamation suit against media critic Philippe Karsenty. (On the Al-Dura case, see my recent Frum Forum report here.) “The family’s privacy has been violated. This photograph adds nothing to the debate,” Szpiner has been quoted as saying about the photo published by Choc. Szpiner, in any case, will not be able to claim that the earlier appearance of the photo on the M6 broadcast “escaped his notice.” As Paul Payan has pointed out, Szpiner was himself featured on the episode of “Secrets d’Actualité” in question.

Asked by Europe1 about the anguish that the photograph must undoubtedly cause the parents of Ilan, Payan responded: “Of course, we understand the anguish of the parents and, of course, we share their anguish. …But what’s so harrowing is not the publication of this photo. What’s harrowing is what it represents, what happened, the reality behind it.”