SIX never previously published photographs by paparazzi of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed on the night they died were shown to a court in Paris yesterday.
Two photographers who took them, before and after the crash which killed the princess and her lover, told the court they were only doing their job.
Jacques Langevin and Fabrice Chassery, together with a third, Christian Martinez, who was absent, are on trial under stringent privacy laws. Three pictures were taken of the couple in their car outside the Ritz hotel and three were of the wreckage of the Mercedes in the underpass where it crashed on August 31, 1997.
Photos taken at the crash site were confiscated and never published.
The prosecutions were brought by Dodi Fayed's father, Mohamed al Fayed, the owner of Harrods, in respect of Dodi. Diana's relatives and the British royal family are not plaintiffs in the case.
Langevin and Chassery said they were not aware they were breaking French law by taking photos of Diana and Dodi in their car
Chassery, 36, accused over photos taken at each location, said he was not part of the paparazzi which pursued the car before the crash. He said he was called to the crash scene by a colleague and started to do his job as soon as he arrived, but stopped taking photographs when the shocking nature of the event struck him.
Langevin, 50, a distinguished photojournalist who covered the war in Afghanistan, is charged over two photos taken at the Ritz. He said he did not understand how a car could be deemed a private place.
''I am a witness. I was recording an event. I keep my feelings to myself,'' he added.
Bernard Dartevelle, Mr al Fayed's lawyer, said Diana and Dodi were being ''hounded'' by the press in the build-up to the crash. He said the pair made it clear they wanted to be left alone during a holiday in St Tropez earlier that month.
Mr Dartevelle argued there was ''no doubt'' the three photographers had broken French privacy laws, and said he could not believe they would not know the rules.
He added: ''We don't want to crucify these people, but we want the court to acknowledge these photos should not have been taken.''
Prosecutor Beatrice Vautherin said the case represented a conflict between the individual's right to privacy and freedom of expression, but she added that the dignity required of moments of great distress had not been respected.
She recommended a suspended sentence for all three photographers. They risk a year in prison and fines of up to (euros)45,000 ((pounds) 32,000).
The three men were among a swarm of celebrity photographers who either pursued the Mercedes carrying Diana and Dodi Fayed or took photos after it crashed in a Paris tunnel.
A year-long investigation concluded that their chauffeur, Henri Paul, who was also killed, had been drinking and was speeding. France's highest court dropped manslaughter charges against nine photographers in 2002. The parents of Henri Paul have started legal action in a French court to clear their son's name.
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