Hugo Clément indicted for defamation and public insult

Journalist and environmental activist Hugo Clément announced through his Twitter account on Friday January 13 that he had been indicted for “defamation” and “public insult“.

On the occasion of a report on the hunting enclosures, Hugo Clément and his teams went to a man named Benjamin Sharp“heir to a group of casinos and owner of a hunting enclosure“, who agreed to receive them for the purposes of an issue of the show On the frontbroadcast on France 5. If the man had agreed to participate in the program, the broadcast of the report in May 2021 finally aroused his anger and pushed him to wear Complaint for defamation and public insult against the former journalist Daily. It was on his social networks that the environmental activist announced that he was indicted for these two reasons. “I have just been indicted by an examining magistrate for having made a program on hunting in enclosures“, he revealed with the photo of a notice of indictment, signed by the court of appeal and the judicial court. “Here’s how a wealthy heir, owner of a hunting enclosure, obstructs justice with a gag procedure to put pressure on a journalist.”

A report on the hunting in enclosure at the origin of its indictment

“In this report, Benjamin Tranchant, heir to the eponymous casino group and owner of a hunting enclosure, opens his doors to us. Finally not finding the show to his liking, because he is very critical of his hobby which consists of shooting locked animals, he decides to file a complaint for defamation, after having given us formal notice to delete the parts concerning him (we refused)“, explained Hugo Clément in a series of tweets. “Know this: when a complaint is filed for defamation with a civil action, the indictment is automatic. The investigating judge has no other option“, continues the journalist, specifying then to have never been”summoned” neither “auditioned” in that case.

“We will not yield anything in the face of this type of maneuver“

As we can read in the complaint, Benjamin Tranchant also criticizes Hugo Clément for having left seven insulting comments under one of his Facebook publications relaying the episode in question. For the journalist,it’s all wind” and “the procedure has no chance of succeeding”, he assures in the same series of tweets. “Benjamin Tranchant is very rich and can therefore afford to incur expenses simply to impress me. But this encumbers an already overstretched justice“, continues the companion of the ex-Miss France Alexandra Rosenfeld. “Obviously, we will not give in to this type of manoeuvre. On the contrary“, he concludes before specifying that a new number of his show On the front will be broadcast Monday, January 16 on France 5.

Article written in collaboration with 6Médias