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| Al Dura Affair: Did the Raw Footage Sink France 2's Case? |
| 2007-11-15 |
| Has the Al Dura trial had its Rosemary Woods missing tapes moment? It certainly sounds that way. PJM’s Nidra Poller has the latest on the ongoing trial in Paris over what has been called “The Mother of All Fauxtography.” Full report will follow shortly. By Nidra Poller The Mohammed Al-Dura drama reached a climax as France 2’s auteur, who had up till now not appeared in court, took the stand. Charles Enderlin came to court personally today to defend the images shot by his trusted cameraman Talal Abu Rahma at Netzarim Junction in the Gaza Strip on September 30, 2000. The cameraman had declared under oath that he filmed 27 minutes of the ordeal of Mohamed al Dura and his father Jamal, pinned down by Israeli gunfire. France 2 turned over to the court a CDRom certified as an authentic copy of the raw footage, of a total duration of 18 minutes. Despite those statements the pertinent al Dura scenes contained in the rushes lasted one short minute. Nothing more. The remaining footage, 17 minutes, was consistent with what was already known about that day at the Junction: staged battle scenes—out of range of the Israeli position—with instant ambulance evacuations, alternating with images of men and boys attacking the Israeli position with stones, firebombs, and burning tires. An overflow crowd waited for more than an hour outside the courtroom and dozens were left outside. Those who were lucky enough to get in were treated to a demonstration of Charles Enderlin’s defense strategy. Did Enderlin’s testimony convince the court despite its lack of corroboration by the rushes? He did not convince this correspondent who came away with greater doubts than ever about France 2’s film. More reactions to the Enderlin’s testimony Richard Landes: “Today Charles Enderlin presented in court the “rushes” of Talal abu Rahmah which the Judge had requested from him. And he presented an edited version in which he took out at least three minutes, and several scenes that I distinctly remember seeing. In the United States that’s called tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice, and perjury. In France, we’ll find out what it’s called.” Melanie Phillips: “Enderlin offered only a vague, rambling and unconvincing explanation of why he had only produced 18 minutes of footage rather than the 27 he claimed to have received from his cameraman in Gaza (Enderlin himself was not in Gaza when these events occurred).” PJM Al Dura background coverage here. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #1 Not holding my breath. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2007-11-15 23:00 |