A court in France has ordered that a magazine publisher turn over all the digital copies of topless photos of Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, within 24 hours. The court also blocked publication of the ‘brutal display’ of William and Kate’s private moments. A daily fine of $13,100 will be levied on the publisher of the French magazine Closer if it does not turn over the photos that were featured in the ‘world exclusive’ issue on Friday. The pictures of Kate showed her topless while on vacation in Provence, France with Prince William.
An injunction was also issued by the court that stops Closer France from republishing the pictures on its tablet app, on its website and from re-selling them. The ruling only covers the 14 photos that were in the edition published on Friday. It is unknown if the magazine has any other photos that it did not release, which means the magazine could publish those photos if it chooses, since the ruling does not cover them.
Closer’s publisher is Mondalori, which will be fined $2,600.
“These snapshots which showed the intimacy of a couple, partially naked on the terrace of a private home, surrounded by a park several hundred meters from a public road, and being able to legitimately assume that they are protected from passers-by, are by nature particularly intrusive,” the French ruling said, according to the Associated Press. “(They) were thus subjected to this brutal display the moment the cover appeared.”
A criminal complaint will also be filed against the photographer, who has yet to be named. The lawsuit will have the goal of releasing the photographer’s name and will permit the couple to stop the pictures from being published elsewhere around the world. The photographer could be sentenced to one year in prison and large fines if the photographer is ever identified in the case.