15 Feb 2012

French prosecutor in Tahiti fined for defaming two Corsicans

6:08 pm on 15 February 2012

The public prosecutor in French Polynesia, Jose Thorel, has been fined more than 5,000 US dollars for defaming two Corsican men by liking them to mafia members.

Thorel, who worked in Corsica before his transfer to Tahiti, commented on high profile individuals charged in separate crime probes.

Asked by a journalist about governance issues in French Polynesia in the days of Gaston Flosse, Thorel said while Flosse was not very intelligent, he was malicious but not like the two Corsicans.

According to a Corsican news site, Thorel's lawyer argued unsuccessfully that there was no defamation because the two individuals were only referred to by their surnames.