The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that
criminalizes the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people
other than professional journalists. The law could lead to the
imprisonment of eyewitnesses who film acts of police violence, or
operators of Web sites publishing the images, one French civil
liberties group warned on Tuesday.
The council chose an unfortunate anniversary to publish its decision
approving the law, which came exactly 16 years after Los Angeles police
officers beating Rodney King were filmed by amateur videographer George
Holliday on the night of March 3, 1991. The officers' acquittal at the
end on April 29, 1992 sparked riots in Los Angeles.
If Holliday were to film a similar scene of violence in France
today, he could end up in prison as a result of the new law, said
Pascal Cohet, a spokesman for French online civil liberties group
Odebi. And anyone publishing such images could face up to five years in
prison and a fine of â[not equal]¬75,000 (US$98,537), potentially a harsher
sentence than that for committing the violent act.
10:10:30 PM 
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