Two more accused of taking Diana car pictures

Two photographers who took pictures of Diana, Princess of Wales, before and after her fatal car accident in Paris in 1997 were formally accused of "invading the intimacy of private lives" yesterday.

This brings to three the number of photographers present that night who have been placed under judicial investigation under France's stringent privacy laws.

The case, quite separate from the manslaughter proceeding brought against nine photographers and a dispatch rider and dropped in 1999, looks likely to cause heated argument over press freedom in France.

Serge Benhamou and Laszlo Veres were placed under investigation yesterday for photographing Diana and her companion, Dodi Fayed, in theirMercedes limousine before and after the crash in the first minutes of 31 August 1997.

Both were among the group of photographers previously cleared of manslaughter. They are now accused of photographing the occupants of the Mercedes after it left the Ritz hotel and taking pictures of the dead and dying a few minutes later.

The proceedings arise from a private case brought by Dodi's father, Mohamed Al Fayed. At first, French judicial authorities refused to pursue his complaint that the photographers had broken the French law which guarantees the privacy of public figures. A court decided last October that legal action should be considered.

French courts have previously ruled that pictures taken of people inside a car infringe their privacy. In this case, however, the pictures have never been published. The French magazine Paris Match and photo agencies have complained that the case is taking French law into dangerously restrictive ground. Virginie Bardet, lawyer for the two photographers, said: "My clients were simply doing their work covering public figures."