Rabat – The trial of French Journalists Catherine Graciet and Eric Laurent who attempted to blackmail King Mohammed VI opened today in Paris. The case dates back to 2015 when the journalists threatened to publish a book about the Moroccan King unless they were paid €2 million (MAD 21.7 million).
The case made international headlines in 2015, with reports indicating that the journalists were arrested and accused of extorting €2 million from King Mohammed VI in order to not publish their book titled “The predator King.”
The pair reportedly contacted Moroccan palace officials, informing them that they had written a book about King Mohammed VI.
According to French news outlet Le Monde, the two journalists met with King Mohammed VI’s personal lawyer, Hicham Naciri, in a Parisian hotel bar on August 11, 2015.
The French newspaper reported that Naciri secretly recorded his meeting with the two journalists, who were arrested by police in Paris on August 27, 2015.
The journalists were in possession of €80,000 in cash when they were arrested, reports have indicated.
During their trial, Graciet and Laurent requested that the recordings should not be used as evidence against them in court, claiming that they were “trapped” and that the recordings were “illegal.”
Denying the blackmail charges, Graciet claimed that it was the King’s lawyer who proposed the deal.
In November 2017, France’s highest court ruled that the recordings incriminating French journalists Graciet and Laurent could be used as evidence.
Shortly after being arrested in August 2015, Laurent admitted to dialing the Moroccan royal cabinet to demand a huge sum of money in exchange for not publishing a book containing “damaging revelations.”
Extortion is a criminal offense in France, punishable by up to a year’s imprisonment and a fine of up to €100,000.
