Paparazzi suspected of manslaughter
PARIS (API — A French judge
declared seven paparazzi to be
manslaughter suspects Tuesday in
the death of Princess Diana, includ
ing one aggressive photographer
said to have felt the dying princess’s
pulse while snapping shots of the car
wreck.
A lawyer for one photographer
dismissed the investigation as "the
ater justice.’’ a sop to public outrage
over the fact Diana, her millionaire
companion and their driver were
killed while being chased by
paparazzi.
But an attorney for companion
Dodi Fayed's father. Mohammed A1
Fayed, said there was “causality"
between the photographers' pursuit
and the fatal crash, and the elder
Fayed was joining the case as a civil
party to prove it.
Fresh disclosures, however,
pointed anew at a combination of
deadly factors in Sundays accident,
including-^, japparemly drunken
condition driver. a Faied
employee. ;
A ParisTiewspapef repotted
chauffeur Henri Paul's blood alcohol
level may have been almost four
times the legal limit at the time of
the crash - higher than originally
believed.
The photographers who went
before the judge Tuesday, one by
one. all had been in custody since
being arrested at the crash scene
Sunday morning.
Judge Herve Stephan placed
them under formal investigation for
"involuntary homicide" - the French
equivalent of manslaughter. It does
not mean they will necessarily be
formally charged with any crimes.
They also will be investigated
for failing to aid people in danger, a
crime under the French "Good
Samaritan" law requiring onlookers
to assist victims of road accidents.
All were freed, two on bond.
Both involuntary homicide and
Good Samaritan violations can be
punished by up to five years in
prison and fines of almost $ 100,000.
In central London on Tuesday, a
grieving human tide engulfed St.
James s Palace, where Diana s body
lay in a chapel closed to the public,
as the British monarchy and govern
ment prepared for Saturday's grand
funeral.
" The White House announced
that first lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton will attend on behalf of the
United States.
Thousands of Britons waited
hours to sign books of condolence at
St. James’ - ordinary people with
special places in their hearts for the
young princess.
“Actually, I think the royal fami
ly should be done away with,
said Irene Treble. 85. “But Diana
was amazing as she had a real com
mon touch that appealed to so many
people.”
The circumstances of her death -
a high-speed chase by celebrity
hunting photographers on motorcy
cles. an alcohol-loaded driver who
may have been pushing the armored
Mercedes-Benz sedan over 100 mph
as it roared through a Paris tunnel -
have outraged people worldwide.
An American businessman who
said he happened on the scene just
after the crash called the photogra
phers “disgusting.”
“I mean (they were) all over the
car,” said Jack Firestone, of Hewlett
Harbor, N.Y., “climbing all over the
car as if they were mosquitoes ...
clicking away like mad. ... It was
obvious these paparazzi knew they
had struck gold.”
Some witnesses said photogra
phers even pushed aside rescuers
and policemen, saying they were
ruining their pictures.
Police accused Romuald Rat, of
the Gamma photo agency, of
obstructing the work of the first
officers on the scene. Rat’s lawyer,
Philippe Benamou, said in defense
that his client merely took Diana’s
pulse when he whs taking pictures of
the wreckage.
s“He wanted to see if she was
deader alive,” the lawyer said.
The <jther paparazzi under inves
tigation are Nikola Arsov, of the
Sipa agency; Jacques Langevin of
Sygma; Laslo Veres, a free-lancer;
Stephane Darmon, a motorcyclist
for Gamma; Serge Arnal of the Stills
agency; and Christian Martinez of
Angeli.
Rat and Martinez were the only
ones who had to post bond - the
equivalent of $16,000 - and were
forbidden from working as journal
ists pending resolution of the case.
“This is theater justice, aimed at
satisfying the expectations of the
public,” said William Bourdon, a
lawyer for Arsov.
“There is no crime here, the file
is empty,” he said. “I will demand
that the case be dismissed immedi
ately.** -
CS jhe driver, Paul, No. 2 security
chief at the Fayed-owned Ritz Hotel,
where Diana and Fayed dined before
their fatal ride, was already reported
by authorities to have been legally
drunk at the time of the crash.
The newspaper Le Monde
reported Tuesday that a second
police toxicology analysis on Paul’s
body came up with a level of 1.87
grams of alcohol per liter of blood -
even higher than the initially report
ed 1.75 figure. If confirmed, that
would give the driver a blood-alco
hol level nearly four times the 0.5
grams per liter legal limit in France.
A 1.75 level is the equivalent of
drinking about 11 ounces of whiskey
in rapid succession.
Police sources say the wrecked
car's speedometer was found stuck
at 196 kilometers per hour - 121
mph - a strong indication of its
speed at impact.
Despite these damning reports,
George Kiejman, a lawyer repre
senting the elder Fayed, made it clear
his aim is to establish the fault of the
photographers in the case.
“There is a causality between the
pursuit (by paparazzi) and the acci
dent,” he said.
Prosecutors had formally asked
the judge to jail two of the photogra
phers - Rat and Martinez - indicat-,
ing they felt evidence against them
was most serious. But the judge did
not follow their recommendation.
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