Diana death crash photographers cleared

Three photographers who took pictures of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed after their fatal Paris car crash, were today cleared of invading the couple’s privacy.

The three men, whose photos were confiscated and not published, were among a swarm of photographers who either pursued the car carrying Diana and her boyfriend across Paris on August 31, 1997, or took photos after it slammed into the pillar of a traffic tunnel.

Jacques Langevin, with Sygma/Corbis at the time, Christian Martinez of the Angeli agency, and freelancer Fabrice Chassery had risked a maximum of one year in prison and €44,000 fines.

The Paris prosecutor had asked for suspended prison sentences.

The photographers had argued in court that they did not invade the famous couple’s privacy, although Chassery and Langevin acknowledged that they took photos at the crash site.

Photographers took pictures through an open door of the crumpled car.

The trial hinged on a French law that says the interior of a car is a private space. The photographers were tried only for pictures of Dodi Fayed. The photos in question showed him either as he left his hotel with Diana or after the crash.

The trial stemmed from a criminal complaint for invasion of privacy filed by Dodi Fayed’s father, Harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed.

Diana’s relatives and the British royal family were not plaintiffs in the case.

A five-year investigation into the crash concluded that chauffeur Henri Paul had been drinking and was speeding. He also was killed.

In 2002, France’s highest court dropped manslaughter charges against nine photographers – including the three acquitted today.