Diana crash photographers being investigated
Five photographers cleared in the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, have been placed under investigation for allegedly invading the privacy of her companion, Dodi Fayed.
Valerie Rosano, a lawyer for the photographers, said the complaint was filed by Mohamed Al Fayed, Dodi’s father, who claims they violated his son’s privacy by photographing him right after the fatal crash.
Diana, Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul, were killed on August 31, 1997 in a high-speed crash in a tunnel under the Alma bridge. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones was badly injured but survived.
The action brings to eight the number of photographers placed under investigation - one step short of being charged - for allegedly violating Dodi Fayed’s privacy.
The eight were among nine photographers and one motorcyclist who were cleared of causing the three deaths. The September 1999 judgment in their favour was upheld on appeal last October.
Judge Herve Stephan ruled that alcohol, drugs and excessive speed - all on the part of the driver, Paul - caused the crash in Paris, and that the photographers’ behaviour, while sharply criticised by witnesses, was not a crime under French law.
