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June 2009: Paris court rules that allegations about Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz are false and defamatory. On 22 June 2009, the Paris Court ordered the editor and publisher of the French book "Le Livre Noir de la CIA" to publish the following correction on its website, as well as to pay Sheikh Khalid's legal costs of bringing the libel action:"By a ruling on 22 June 2009, the Court of First Instance of Paris, civil press chamber, convicted Yannick Dehée, director of the company Nouveau Monde Editions, this company and Yvonnick Denoël, as editor and author of the book The Black Book of the CIA of having publicly defamed Khalid Bin Mahfouz in two accusatory passages in this book published in October 2007 implicating him." The French court made the ruling as a result of libel proceedings commenced in January 2008 by Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz against the editor and publisher of the book "Le Livre Noir de la CIA" which alleged, amongst other things, that he was involved in funding terrorism. The editor and publisher of the book were not able to justify the allegations about Sheikh Khalid and defended the claim on the basis that the words complained of were written in good faith even though untrue. The Paris Court ruled that the accusation that Sheikh Khalid is a funder of terrorism was false and defamatory and that the words were not published in good faith. |