French Journalists on Trial for ‘Trying to Blackmail' Moroccan King

Morocco's King Mohammed VI (MAP)
Morocco's King Mohammed VI (MAP)
TT

French Journalists on Trial for ‘Trying to Blackmail' Moroccan King

Morocco's King Mohammed VI (MAP)
Morocco's King Mohammed VI (MAP)

Two French journalists will go on trial Monday in Paris on suspicion of trying to blackmail Morocco's King Mohammed VI, demanding €2 million in 2015 in exchange for not publishing a damaging book about the monarch.

The case dates back to the summer of 2015, which saw secret meetings in hotels, private recordings, police surveillance, and exchanged funds.

In 2012, journalists Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet published a book that contained damaging claims about the King and was banned in Morocco.

Three years later, they signed a new publishing contract to prepare a book on the same topic.

On July 23, 2015, the two journalists contacted the Moroccan palace officials, informing them they had written a book on Mohammed VI. A first meeting was organized in Paris with Moroccan lawyer Hicham Naciri on August 11 in a Parisian hotel bar.

During the meeting, Laurent announced plans to publish the book in early 2016, which included information probably "embarrassing" to Rabat. However, accounts of what followed differed significantly.

According to the journalist, Naciri offered a financial agreement not to publish the book.

The Moroccan government alerted French authorities to the alleged blackmail, and a further meeting was arranged, this time under police surveillance.

A third meeting was set for August 27, 2015, in another hotel where Laurent and Graciet signed a contract and received 80,000 euros in cash.

The pair were arrested as they left the establishment "with the proceeds of their crime in their pockets" the lawyer said.

The meetings were recorded, but the recordings were deemed illegal by the defense team.

The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal request in November 2017.

Journalists Eric Laurent, 75, and Catherine Graciet, 48, were initially accused of extortion, but the charges were dropped at the end of the judicial investigation, which lasted nearly six years.

Laurent is a former reporter for Radio France, Le Figaro Magazine, and France Culture. He has written many controversial books, one of which deals with September 11, 2011.

Graciet worked in Rabat and published books on Morocco and Libya.

During the investigation, they admitted to accepting a contract to "give up" the book, whose geopolitical consequences "worried" them, but they denied any threat or extortion.

Speaking to French daily Le Monde on Friday, Graciet's lawyer Eric Moutet insisted blackmail was out of character for his client and hinted that the arrest resulted from a Moroccan government sting.

"I don't yet have complete access to the case files, but this whole business stinks of a setup," he said.

Laurent's defense lawyer argued that the two defendants fell into a trap set by Moroccan intelligence.



Lebanon’s War Losses Double Compared to 2006

Rescuers and aid workers search for survivors at the site of an Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon (AFP)
Rescuers and aid workers search for survivors at the site of an Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon (AFP)
TT

Lebanon’s War Losses Double Compared to 2006

Rescuers and aid workers search for survivors at the site of an Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon (AFP)
Rescuers and aid workers search for survivors at the site of an Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon (AFP)

A comparison of the current human and material losses from the ongoing Hezbollah-Israel conflict with those from the July 2006 war shows that current losses have doubled.

Experts warn that the reconstruction funds and aid pledged to Lebanon 18 years ago may have limited impact once the war ends.

Total Losses

Mohammad Shamseddine, a researcher from Information International, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the death toll has risen from 900 in 2006 to 2,865 in the current conflict (as of October 31, 2024), with the number increasing daily. The number of wounded was 4,000 in 2006, but it has now exceeded 13,047.

In 2006, 600,000 people were displaced, while today that number has surpassed 1.2 million. Of these, 189,174 are in shelters. A total of 358,133 Syrians and 172,604 Lebanese have fled to Syria, and 120,000 have sought refuge in other countries.

Lebanese Economy and Trade Minister Amin Salam estimated that Lebanon’s total economic losses from the current conflict have reached $20 billion. However, economic associations report direct losses between $10 billion and $12 billion, covering damage to key sectors, homes, buildings, and infrastructure.

These figures align with estimates from Shamseddine, who believes direct and indirect losses are around $10 billion.

Of this, $4 billion occurred from October 8, 2023, to September 17, 2024 (when the conflict was mostly limited to the south), and $7 billion from September 17 to October 31, 2024, after Israel expanded the war. For comparison, losses during the 2006 war totaled $5.3 billion.

In 2006, infrastructure damage was valued at $900 million, higher than the current war's $570 million in infrastructure losses.

Housing losses in 2006 totaled $2.2 billion, while they have now surpassed $4.26 billion. Mohammad Shamseddine points out that commercial losses were similar in both conflicts, at $4.7 million.

Agricultural and environmental losses in 2006 were $450 million, but now exceed $900 million. Indirect economic damages were $1.2 billion in 2006, while they have now surpassed $3.38 billion.

One notable difference is the number of airstrikes: from October 8, 2023, to October 31, 2024, there were 11,647, compared to just 3,670 during the 33-day 2006 war.