Detox. No, Maureen Kearny is not recognized as a victim by the courts

Where does the intox come from?

Released in theaters on March 1, the film The Syndicalist comes back to the story of Maureen Kearney, former union official at Areva. She claims to have been raped and scarified in 2012 because of her fight against an agreement with EDF and a Chinese nuclear operator. Sentenced for “false denunciation”, she was finally released in 2018 by the Versailles Court of Appeal. Around the film, media coverage is almost unanimous: many articles and broadcasts take it for granted that the facts of the assault have been formally established. Among them, The New Republic writes that Maureen Kearney is “recognized victim”. And Patrick Cohen in “C to You”, assures that the 2018 decision “leaves no room for doubt”.

Why is this wrong?

Contacted, Patrick Cohen admits having “improvised this passage” and “afraid of having advanced a little”. And for good reason: the judgment of the Court of Appeal, consulted by Désintox, is based precisely on the doubts that remain in this case, to relax Maureen Kearney. And even concludes: “It is quite possible that Maureen Kearney staged a scene to simulate an assault (…) but that this eventuality does not present sufficient certainty to carry the conviction necessary for a conviction”.

Clearly: if she is found not guilty of false denunciation, this does not mean that the former trade unionist is recognized as the victim of the attack. A great caution in the motivations of the decision that we do not find in the articles on this affair, still surrounded by a large part of mystery.