Ordering bodyguard to beat workman: Paris court hands 10-month suspended sentence to princess

PARIS: A French court on Thursday handed a 10-month suspended sentence to a princess of a Middle Eastern country for ordering a bodyguard to beat a workman who came to do plumbing work at her luxury residence in Paris in 2016. The princess had been charged with instructing her bodyguard to beat, hold captive and humiliate the plumber.

Tried in absentia and the target of an arrest warrant since December 2017, she was also ordered by the Pariscourt to pay a 10,000-euro ($11,000) fine. The princess had never shown up at the trial, which got underway in July. The punishment was heavier than demanded by prosecutors, who had sought a six-month suspended sentence and a fine of 5,000 euros ($5,480).

The princess was accused of instructing her bodyguard to beat up the workman after he was seen taking pictures inside her home in September 2016. She had been charged with complicity in an act of intentional violence, complicity in illegal confinement and complicity in theft.

The bodyguard, who was the only protagonist in the case present in court, was handed an eight-month suspended sentence and a 5,000-euro fine, in line with the recommendations of prosecutors.

Lawyers for the princess and bodyguard said they planned to appeal, saying the case was based on unfounded allegations while also questioning the conduct of the workman, who presented a 21,000 euro bill for the works just days after the events.