The appeal hearing in the long-running case between Enrico Lunghi, former RTL journalists Marc Thoma and Sophie Schram, as well as ex-RTL director Alain Berwick, concluded in Luxembourg City on Wednesday. The case centres on allegations of slander and defamation stemming from a disputed television report broadcast nearly a decade ago.
During the session, the representative of the public prosecutor’s office called for the acquittal of Alain Berwick to be upheld, while asking that the charges against Thoma and Schram be maintained. However, he indicated he would be satisfied with the minimum fine of €251. By contrast, at first instance, Thoma and Schram had each been ordered to pay a €1,000 fine, along with a symbolic €1 in damages to Lunghi.
The case dates back to autumn 2016, when reporter Sophie Schram interviewed then-Mudam director Enrico Lunghi. During the interview, Lunghi pushed her microphone away and grabbed her wrist. Eleven days later, the incident was aired in an RTL report that showed Schram with a bandaged arm. The broadcast led to disciplinary action against Lunghi, who ultimately resigned.
A central issue in the appeal was whether the RTL report misrepresented Lunghi’s actions by omitting 28 seconds of footage, and failing to mention that he later apologised to Schram. The public prosecutor acknowledged Lunghi’s behaviour was inappropriate and stated that the journalists should have been allowed to include this in their coverage. Nevertheless, he criticised the editing, arguing, “he was portrayed worse than he was”, and described the cut as influencing public opinion.
Defence lawyers for the three defendants argued for acquittal. Berwick’s lawyer rejected any suggestion of a conspiracy against Lunghi, while Schram’s lawyer contended that removing the contested sequence would have shielded Lunghi rather than harmed him.
In court, Schram stated, “I did nothing wrong, in fact, I did everything correctly.” Thoma insisted that there was no malicious intent behind the editing, explaining that the footage was cut simply because the camera was pointed at cobblestones at that moment. “Nothing was distorted,” he added.
The court is set to deliver its decision in the appeal on Monday, 20 May.
