The director of the newspaper “Oise Hebdo” fined for having disclosed the identity of the police officer

The newspaper director Oise Weekly was fined on Thursday, August 22, for having disclosed, shortly after the riots that followed Nahel’s death in June 2023, the name of the police officer who fired the fatal shot. Vincent Gérard, the publication director of the Picardy weekly, was fined €4,000, €2,000 of which was suspended, and ordered to pay €1,000 to the police officer in moral damages, the Compiègne prosecutor’s office explained.

The newspaper itself reported this court decision on its website, in an article that again mentioned the police officer’s name. Vincent Gérard announced to AFP that he would appeal this sentence, handed down three days after the hearing held on Monday. “I did my job as a journalist by saying where the policeman lived, it was important that people who lived nearby were aware that there was possibly danger that could happen”justified the publication director. Furthermore, “There was no reason why his name should not be disclosed”he “was circulating” on the internet and “his safety was completely assured since he was in prison”.

The weekly had published, on July 6, 2023, an article giving the name of the police officer and his town of residence, as well as a photo of him taken from the Copains d’avant website. That same evening, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, had taken legal action against Oise Weeklydenouncing a “irresponsible content” who put “the life of the police officer’s family is in danger”.

Un1té, one of the main police unions, welcomed on X a conviction which puts an end to “the impunity of those who hid behind the law on freedom of the press to endanger police officers”Several nights of riots across France followed the death of 17-year-old Nahel, killed on June 27, 2023, by a bullet fired at point-blank range by a police officer who was checking the car as it started up again.