Today, Tuesday, the Paris Misdemeanor Court issued a suspended sentence of 12 months in prison and a fine of 10,000 euros against French journalists Eric Laurent and Catherine Grassie, in connection with the extortion case that targeted the Kingdom of Morocco.
The defendants were also ordered to pay €5,000 each, under Article 475-1 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure.
On the other hand, the court decided to accept the civil plaintiff’s request submitted by the Kingdom of Morocco in terms of form, and awarded the journalists an amount of 1 euro as compensation for the various damages presented by the civil party.
Eric Laurent and Catherine Grassie, who threatened Morocco with publishing a written book if they did not receive a sum of three million euros, were arrested red-handed for extortion, following a complaint filed by Morocco with French justice and meetings organized with the defendants under the supervision of the police and the prosecution.