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On Monday, a one-year suspended prison term and a €15,000 fine were requested for two French journalists accused of threatening the Moroccan king in 2015.
Eric Laurent, a former reporter for Radio France and Figaro magazine and author of numerous books, has been accused of demanding €2 million to deprive himself of embarrassing information, saying, “Where’s the blackmail?” Are you, Mr. President?” he defended.
The former journalist, now 75, admitted to the Paris Criminal Court that he was “ethically wrong” and “wrecked” for “agreeing to be involved in this case,” but not “criminally.”
The Moroccan emissary “seduced me with his financial offer. There are many.
In 2012, two journalists, authors of the book “The predatory king” about Mohammed VI, signed a deal with Le Seuil for a second volume on the same subject.
On July 23, 2015, Eric Laurent contacted the private secretary of the King of Morocco to request an appointment organized with the monarch’s envoy, lawyer Hisham Nasiri, at the Palace in Paris on August 11.
“I will explain to him what the book is about,” said Eric, seated in a bar chair in the courtroom, as he plans to evoke royal tensions and embezzlement accusations involving the country’s publicly traded companies. Laurent says.
“To me Naciri told me: Everything doesn’t suit us and we’ll be switching to a deal soon. He’s the one to propose,” he says. ‘, answers Ralph Boussier, one of Morocco’s lawyers.
The project “never existed. They don’t have the elements to write about it (…) A revelation that rocks the Kingdom of Morocco: Where are they? I believe journalists saw it in an attempt. Threatening the “opportunity” to “change your life”.
Morocco lodged a complaint after this meeting. The investigation is ongoing and another two of her meetings will be held on August 21st and 27th.
Finally, in the presence of Catherine Glacier, the two journalists sign a contract to withdraw the book project, paying €2 million. Before being arrested for every €40,000 in cash. Afterwards, they learn that the three encounters were recorded by the king’s messengers.
Confronted with the minutes of the first meeting, it appears that he is willing to provide the amount, but Mr. Laurent brushes it off, saying, “This recording is fake.”
Experts were aware that the copies given to investigators were “post-processed and impossible to identify,” but in 2017 the defense’s Appeal dismissed.
“There is no evidence that this recording was altered, fragmented, or had a meeting,” prosecutors stressed.
A decision will be made on March 14th.
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