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Publication of injured Princess Diana photo condemned

(AFP)
Updated: 2006-07-14 09:22

LONDON - Mohammed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died in the car crash which also killed Princess Diana, said he was "sad and angry" after an Italian magazine published pictures of her in the wreckage.

This combo picture taken shows Princess Diana (L) and Dodi al Fayed (R) and a 31 August 1997 picture of the wreckage of the car in which Diana and al Fayed died in a road accident 31 August in Alma tunnel in Paris. Mohammed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died in the car crash which also killed Princess Diana, said he was "sad and angry" after an Italian magazine published pictures of her in the wreckage.[AFP]

"This heartless pursuit of money brings shame on those responsible for producing such a vile production," said Al Fayed after a photo of the princess being given oxygen at the crash scene appeared in the weekly Chi magazine.

"It makes me sad and angry that a magazine would reproduce an image of the princess as she clung desperately to life."

Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed died in the crash in Paris in 1997, along with their chauffeur, Henri Paul.

Al Fayed, who owns the world-famous Harrods department store in west London, said the editor of the Milan-based magazine, and the author of a new book about the crash, had "no thought" for Diana's family, particularly her sons.

But Britain's domestic Press Association news agency quoted Chi editor Umberto Brindani as saying the photo -- headlined "World Exclusive: The Last Photo" -- was "touching" and "tender", not offensive.

"She is not dead in the picture but looks as if she is a sleeping princess," he was quoted as saying.

He added: "I published the picture for a very simple reason -- it has never been seen before. In my opinion it is not a picture which is offensive to the memory of Princess Diana.

"As a thorough and informative news magazine we have merely reported the publication of a book in France regarding Princess Diana's death."

The photo is taken from a book by crime writer Jean-Michel Caradec'h called "Lady Diana: The Criminal Investigation".