A Paris court found French media analyst Philippe Karsenty guilty of defaming France 2 TV over its controversial footage of Mohammed Dura’s death.
Karsenty had accused France 2’s Charles Enderlin of fabricating the footage depicting what was presented as the 12 year-old boy’s death during a 2001 gunfight at Gaza’s Netzarim Junction. The video aired throughout the world, and the image of the boy crouching beside his father became an icon of the Second Intifada.
France 2’s lawyers told AP the ruling was a victory for journalism. Karsenty shared his thoughts on the decision with Algemeiner, including the possibility of appealing to the French supreme court.
“I think it is a dark day for French democracy and I think it is a dark day for the truth,” Karsenty declared of the verdict, adding optimistically, “and the truth will prevail in the end, I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I know that it will prevail.”
For background on who Karsenty is and how he became a central figure fighting France 2’s footage, see my 2006 Q&A with Karsenty. And watch Tom Gross explain the host of questions against the al-Dura video’s credibility.
