Editor collapses before hearing into Michaela pictures

The newspaper editor who faces a year in prison for publishing photographs of Michaela McAreavey’s body collapsed due to “hysteria” before his case could be brought before the courts yesterday.

Imran Hosany, the 65-year-old editor of the Mauritian Sunday Times was admitted to intensive care in the local hospital in the capital city of Port Louis.

He collapsed after waiting for some two hours for the police to bring in his charge file.

Last night he was reported to be in stable condition at Jeetoo hospital.

The doctors treating him blamed his sudden collapse on “hysteria”.

Mr Hosany is facing a charge of outrage against religious and public morality.

Last week, the Sunday Times carried a picture of the body of Michaela McAreavey on its front page.

It also carried a double page spread of images from the crime scene, as well as close-up images of the injuries inflicted on the 27-year-old Tyrone native during her honeymoon in room 1025 of the island’s Legends Hotel.

No formal charge were put to Mr Hosany before he collapsed.

It is understood that, ahead of yesterday’s scheduled hearing, when asked by police about his motives for releasing the pictures, he told police officers that it was of public interest.

To date, in spite of a public request from the McAreavey and Harte families to name the source of the photographs, he has refused to do so. The Mauritian prime minister claimed they were leaked by a defence lawyer after their client was cleared of the killing last week.

Mr Hosany was called at the Central Criminal Investigation Department at the Line Barracks in Port Louis on Wednesday and he was formally arrested during the afternoon.

He spent the night at the Alcatraz prison.

He was brought to court at 12pm yesterday. Officers of the CCID accompanying him had to return to the police headquarters as information of the charges were not ready.

CCID officers returned after two hours with the charge file but they still had to wait for the district magistrate.

Around 1.55pm, a sister of Mr Hosany started shouting about her brother’s eyes being “dilated”.

Family members and relatives rushed to where Mr Hosany was sitting in the front bench.

As he was being held in the arms of his sister, Mr Hosany was lowered into a reclined position on the bench before police called for ambulance.

The family members insisted on bringing Mr Hosany to a private clinic, but CCID officers took him to the hospital.

Mr Hosany’s sister then shouted: “The police are responsible for all of this. My brother suffers from cardiac problems and they knew about his medical history. They made him wait for two hours. What is this?”