British justice –
Prince Harry loses his recourse to justice on his police protection
The Minister of the Interior assesses the need for protection of the younger son of the king and his wife on a case -by -case basis since they left the country.
Posted today at 4:56 p.m.
Prince Harry, who had moved during the audiences of April 8 and 9, was not present at the rendering of the judgment.
AFP/HENRY NICHOLLS
Subscribe now and take advantage of the audio reading function.
Bottal
After leaving the country in 2020, the younger son of King Charles III and his wife Meghan lost the systematic protection provided for active members of the royal family and paid by the British taxpayer.
From now on, The Interior Ministry Assesses the need for protection of the prince on a case-by-case basis when he goes to the United Kingdom. A decision that the prince has been contesting before the courts since 2021.
On Friday, judge Geoffrey your said that the government’s decision had been “logical” because “the Duke of Sussex withdrew from royal functions and left the United Kingdom to live mainly abroad”.
Prince Harry, who had moved during the audiences of April 8 and 9, was not present at the rendering of the judgment.
However, the judge said he was sensitive to the prince’s “powerful and moving arguments”. But he considered that the grievances of the Duke of Sussex did not constitute “a legal argument in favor of the protest” of the government’s decision.
Second defeat in court
This is the second defeat in court to the princewhich had been dismissed last year in the same case. Justice had considered that the authorities’ decision was “legally founded”.
In another procedure concluded in May 2023, he was denied the right to benefit from police protection by paying it with his personal funds.
The subject is sensitive for Harrywho holds the press and the paparazzi as responsible for the car accident who killed her mother, Princess Diana, in Paris in 1997.
“Life and security” of the prince “are at stake,” pleaded his lawyer Shaheed Fatima at the hearing in early April.
-Mences d’Al-Qaïda
His defense also argued that the prince notably received threats from Al-Qaeda and was taken in a “dangerous chase” with paparazzi in New York in May 2023.
The lawyer for the Ministry of the Interior, James Eadie, had defended the “tailor -made” approach adopted by the British authorities, which corresponds better to the change of status of the prince within the royal family.
At the statement of the judgment, the judge recognized the “very sensitive political” nature of the case.
During the examination of his appeal at first instance, Harry said that his fears for his security and that of his family – including his two children Archie (5 years old) and Lilibet (3 years) – prevented him from coming more regularly to the country.
Cold with the rest of the family
The prince is cold with the rest of the royal family, against which he has multiplied the attacks in recent years. His last known interview with his father dates back more than a year, shortly after the announcement of Charles III cancer.
Prince Harry also engaged in a legal crusade against tabloids in the United Kingdom, with more or less success.
He also made the headlines recently, after having resigned from his function as a sponsor of an association working in Africa and which he had created in memory of his mother, due to a conflict with his president.
She accused him of “harassment and intimidation”, and the British regulator of associations opened an investigation.
Denouncing the “lies” of the president, Harry said that the investigation reveals “the truth about what [les] Collectively forced to resign ”, with the co -founder of the NGO, Prince Seeiso du Lesotho.
“Latest news”
Do you want to stay at the top of the info? “24 Hours” offers you two meetings per day, directly in your email box. To not miss anything of what is happening in your canton, Switzerland or in the world.
Other newsletters
Connect
AFP
Did you find an error? Please report it to us.
1 comment