Photographers May Face Charges In Diana’s Death

Seven photographers were notified by a judge Tuesday they are under “formal investigation” for manslaughter and other crimes stemming from Sunday’s car crash that killed Princess Diana, boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed and their driver.

Five of the photographers were freed on their own recognizance. Two others - Romuald Rat of Gamma and Christian Martinez of the Angeli agency - were released on $16,000 bail each and ordered not to work as journalists until the investigation is complete.

The photographers - most of whom were chasing the princess’ Mercedes-Benz on motorcycles - have been in police custody since hours after the crash early Sunday morning. The judge could have detained them longer. But the investigation shifted Monday when authorities disclosed the car’s driver, Henri Paul, was legally drunk when the speeding car slammed into a concrete piling in a tunnel along the Seine River.

“This is theater justice,” said William Bourdon, a lawyer for one of the photographers, adding the paparazzi were “scapegoats” for a world pressuring the French government to blame an aggressive media for the death of the Princess of Wales.

Police have not yet interviewed the fourth person in the car, Trevor Rees-Jones, a bodyguard who Tuesday remained hospitalized in critical condition. A lawyer for the alFayed family said Rees-Jones’ face was entirely crushed but his life was not in danger despite the severity of his injuries.

The most serious charge facing the photographers is manslaughter. Police confiscated and developed 20 rolls of the photographers’ film to determine whether the paparazzi caused the crash by buzzing too close to the Mercedes. The second most serious possible charge is violation of France’s “Good Samaritan” law, which requires bystanders to assist people in danger.

Manslaughter and the Good Samaritan law each carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail and $81,500 in fines. The fact the photographers have been placed under “formal investigation” does not mean they necessarily will be charged with any crime.

Witnesses have said the paparazzi took pictures instead of helping Princess Diana while she was bleeding and trapped in the wreckage. Police accused Rat of interfering with emergency crews and police officers arriving in the tunnel just north of the Eiffel Tower. Rat’s lawyer, Philippe Benamou, said his client did snap pictures but also checked Diana’s pulse.

Besides Rat and Martinez, the five other photographers are: Nikola Arsov, of the Sipa agency; Jacques Langevin, of the Sygma agency; Laslo Veres, a free-lancer; Stephane Darmon, of the Gamma agency; and Serge Arnal, of the Stills agency.

Sygma’s director, Hubert Henrotte, told the French newspaper Le Monde that Langevin, a former Associated Press stringer known for his pictures of the 1989 Chinese crackdown in Tiananmen Square, arrived at the scene by chance after the accident.