PARIS - Six photographers and one of their motorcycle drivers were placed under investigation by the Paris prosecutor yesterday for "involuntary homicide," a step toward bringing criminal charges against them in the deaths of Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz sedan whose crash killed them.
The seven men also will be investigated for failing to aid the accident's victims, which is obligatory in France. Judicial sources held out the possibility that other photographers would be named in the criminal inquiry. Several reportedly fled the scene before police could stop them and are being sought by law enforcement authorities.
The photographers and the driver were freed after being placed under investigation, a step in the French legal system somewhat short of being a suspect. They had been held since the accident early Sunday morning. The prosecutor had requested that two continue to be detained, but instead they were required to post bail and were forbidden to work as journalists while the case is pending.
As they were released and their handcuffs removed, the suspects slipped out side entrances to the huge courthouse building, avoiding the waiting banks of television and still cameras. French photographers said they would not have taken pictures of them anyway, out of "solidarity." The seven also were said by other journalists to have avoided the spotlight because they had sold their stories of detention to tabloid newspapers and wanted to preserve exclusivity.
They are: Nicola Arsov of the SIPA agency, Jacques Langevin of Sygma, Serge Arnal of Stills, freelancer Laslo Veres, Stephane Darmone, a driver for the Gamma agency, Romuald Rat of Gamma and Christian Martinez of Angeli. Rat and Martinez had been recommended for detention and posted bail instead.
Involuntary homicide is punishable by a prison sentence of up to 15 years, failing to assist victims by up to five years' incarceration and a fine of up to $80,600.
Although prosecutors did not specify the evidence they had against the paparazzi, witnesses have described a nightmarish scene of 10 to 15 photographers swarming around the crushed Mercedes, taking pictures inches from Diana's face as she lay trapped in the back seat, unconscious. Reports Tuesday also indicated photographers had pushed policemen and swore at them. Diana died in the hospital less than four hours after the crash.
Also Tuesday, the family of Dodi Fayed and of Henri Paul, the driver, said they would file civil suits in the case, which under French law would allow them to participate in the French justice system against the suspects.
The seven men were placed under investigation as part of a criminal inquiry that opened yesterday under the auspices of an investigating magistrate. The magistrate, Herve Stephan, will continue the investigation begun by police following the auto accident early Sunday morning in a highway tunnel on the Right Bank of the Seine River.
William Bourdon, lawyer for Arsov, criticized what he called "show justice" and said he thought the seven were being made scapegoats.
The men were picked up following a high-speed chase from the Ritz Hotel, where Diana and Fayed ate their last dinner, that ended when the Mercedes S-280 rammed into a pillar in a highway tunnel at a speed that has been reported as high as 125 miles per hour. The speed has not been confirmed by police.
The blood level of the driver, Paul, was more than three times the legal limit for driving in France. Some press reports Tuesday said Paul, the assistant director of security at the Ritz, who had been called in because the regular chauffeur drove a decoy car to lure photographers away, was well known at the hotel as a drinker. Those reports could not be confirmed, and family and residents of Paul's home town of Lorient in western France would not comment. The Ritz had no comment Tuesday and said it would make a statement today.
AP PHOTO
Two unidentified people look at a graffiti mural yesterday in New York City created in honor of Princess Diana, who died along with Dodi Fayed on Sunday morning.