Court OKs 3 acquittals

PARIS (AP) -- A Paris appeals court upheld the acquittals Tuesday of three photographers accused of invasion of privacy after they took pictures of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed at the scene of their deadly crash.
Jacques Langevin, Christian Martinez and Fabrice Chassery were first acquitted last November. Fayed's father, Egyptian-born billionaire Mohammed Al Fayed, filed an appeal, which was rejected Tuesday by the Paris court. He said he planned to appeal again, to France's highest court.
"Photos like that are taken every day in every country in the world," said Langevin. "The judges were courageous. Justice has been done -- for the moment."
not responsible
His lawyer, Francois Stefanaggi, said the ruling showed that photographers were not responsible for the couple's deaths.
"At this stage in the procedure, we can consider that there is no longer any reason to lump together the unfortunate accident that cost the lives of Diana Spencer and Dodi Fayed and the photographers' pictures," he said.
The three men, whose photos were confiscated and not published, were among the swarm of photographers who pursued the car carrying Diana and her boyfriend across Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, and took photos after it slammed into the pillar of a traffic tunnel.
The photos in question in the case showed Fayed and Diana leaving Paris' Ritz Hotel and after the crash.
Al Fayed said he was disappointed with the decision. "I have no doubt that the paparazzi sought to profit from the tragedy," Fayed said in Britain. "This is offensive to me and should be repugnant to everyone who cares about privacy, dignity and human decency."
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