The judgment of the French journalists, Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet, accused of having wanted to make a ” blackmail to King Mohammed VI “, was pronounced this Tuesday, March 14 in Paris. The two journalists received a one-year suspended prison sentence and a 10,000 euro fine.
They were thus found guilty of having tried to blackmail the King of Morocco in 2015 by demanding money in return for the non-publication of a book against the Kingdom. Authors in 2012 of the book ” The predator King on King Mohammed VI, Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet had signed a contract with Le Seuil for a second volume on the same subject.
Lawyers for the two journalists immediately appealed the sentence. Eric Laurent, 76, and Catherine Graciet, 48, have always denied having made any threat. However, they admitted having committed a ” ethical error by accepting a proposal for a financial arrangement from Rabat.
The two journalists have been on trial since January in Paris for having sought to obtain 2 million euros in 2015 by threatening to publish a book against King Mohammed VI, according to the prosecution.
Recordings, two envelopes containing 40,000 euros in cash and contracts signed with a Moroccan emissary after a complaint in France, constitute the basis of this file in which Catherine Graciet says to herself “ victim of a trap “.
For his part, Eric Laurent, former journalist for Radio France and Le Figaro magazine, and author of several books, admitted having committed a ” moral error by agreeing to be involved in this affair.
According to the court, Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet had a “ common approach and they exercised a pressure on the emissary, speaking, among other things, of a book.