His Highness Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdullah Al Alaoui of Morocco v Elaph Publishing Ltd
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | Mr Justice Dingemans |
| Judgment Date | 24 April 2015 |
| Neutral Citation | [2015] EWHC 1084 (QB) |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division |
| Date | 24 April 2015 |
| Docket Number | Case No: IHJ/15/0048 |
[2015] EWHC 1084 (QB)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
The Honourable Mr Justice Dingemans
Case No: IHJ/15/0048
Justin Rushbrooke QC and Richard Munden (instructed by Lee & Thompson) for the Claimant
David Glen (instructed by Payne Hicks Beach) for the Defendant
Hearing dates: 30 March 2015
This is a libel claim brought by the Claimant His Highness Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdallah Al Alaoui of Morocco ("Moulay Hicham") against the Defendant Elaph Publishing Limited ("Elaph") in respect of an article published in Arabic on its news website on 8 th and 9 th October 2014. Elaph is a company incorporated in England and Wales. The article was removed following a complaint by Moulay Hicham's solicitors on 9 th October 2014.
Proceedings were issued on 10 th October 2014 and Particulars of Claim were served on 8 th December 2014. A certified translation of the article was annexed to the Particulars of Claim, and the application is made on the basis of that translation.
Elaph brings an application seeking a determination that the words pleaded in paragraph 3 of the Particulars of Claim are not capable of bearing: (a) the defamatory meanings pleaded in paragraphs 6.1 to 6.3 of the Particulars of Claim; (b) any other meaning defamatory of Moulay Hicham; and (c) that the claim be struck out and reverse summary judgment be entered for Elaph.
There was, in the alternative, an application for a preliminary issue about the actual meaning of the words. However this was not pursued at the hearing before me. This was because a preliminary issue to determine the actual meaning and whether that meaning was defamatory (as opposed to whether the words were capable of bearing any defamatory meaning) will raise issues about whether the statement " has caused or is likely to cause serious harm" to the reputation of the Claimant within the meaning of section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013. The publication was on the internet and it was common ground that there was relevant evidence about the extent of the internet publication which might be adduced.
I should note therefore that this is an application about whether the words are capable of bearing a defamatory meaning. My task is therefore to "pre-empt perversity", see Rufus v Elliot [2015] EWCA Civ 121 at paragraph 8.
After argument and before delivery of the judgment I was notified that the parties might be able to resolve matters and I was asked to delay delivery of my judgment. I was then informed that the parties had not been able to settle matters and I therefore hand down judgment.
The article
The relevant part of the article, together with paragraph numbers to assist in the reference, is set out below:
" Using former boxer Zakaria Moumni in a premeditated plot:
Moulay Hicham schemes to entrap Mounir Al-Majidi
[1] Moulay Hicham does not pass up any chance to sabotage the image of Moroccan King Mohammed VI, and the latest ploy utilised former boxer Zakaria Momeni to bring down Mounir Majidi, assistant and adviser to the King.
[2] Beirut: Everything that harms Morocco always involves Moulay Hicham. This argument has become increasingly prevalent in the corridors of the royal family palace in light of the machinations that the cousin of King Mohammed VI never ceases to weave, the most recent of which, recently involved a take-down of Mounir Majidi, an aid very close to the Moroccan monarch's heart.
Premeditated plots
[3] Reports emerged stating that Moulay Hicham met with former Moroccan boxer Zakaria Moumni on 26th June this year in the Fouquet Hotel in Paris in order to urge him to raise a case against Majidi in French courts on charges of making death threats. Hicham requested that Moumni keep the case a secret, so that Majidi could be forcibly held when he came to France.
[4] Hicham launched a similar strike last February on Abdellatif Hamouchi, head of Morocco's anti-espionage agency, who was called by the French judiciary for investigation while staying at the home of the Moroccan ambassador in Paris. This issue had a negative impact on French-Moroccan relations.
[5] Moumni insists that the alleged meeting happened only by coincidence—but this was the response that Hicham whispered into his ears. The latter is working very hard not to answer the fundamental question: what is the difference between a chance meeting that he claims took place and the meeting that lasted half an hour? Moumni admits, however, and without equivocation, that he met Moulay Hicham and his wife in the Fouquet hotel because he, himself, frequents the hotel and happened to see the Alaouite Prince, himself, visit that day.
Coincidence or conspiracy!
[6] Few believe the story of the accidental meeting, especially since Hicham visited the George V Four Seasons Hotel, owned by a relative of Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, when he was in Paris. The Fouquet Hotel, where the meeting took place, is situated on the same street.
[7] News reports list some of the finer details of this meeting, claiming that the Moroccan Prince spoke frequently while Moumni spent half an hour listening attentively. Hicham incited the former boxer to say, at every occasion and wherever he went, that Mounir Majidi, Secretary to the Moroccan King, threatened to kill him in France. He also urged him to submit a judicial complaint against Majidi, informing him of people that would help him do so and asking him to contact them.
[8] Moumni himself is the world champion of a type of Thai boxing called "light contact." He currently benefits from a decree issued by late Moroccan King Hassan II which appointed him Sports Advisor of Morocco, despite the fact that the sport that he practices is not included on the list of sports recognised by the Olympics. In 2006 Moumni received authorisation to operate two large fare-operated vehicles and take all the revenues. One would be placed under his name and the other under his father's name. Thus, the man set fire to the Kingdom's highest-ranking centres whose revenues he benefits from, just like a man who drinks from a well and then throws a stone inside it…"
Pleaded meanings and relevant contentions
It was pleaded on behalf of Moulay Hicham that the natural and ordinary meaning of the words was:
"(1) that the Claimant had orchestrated a plot to sabotage the image of King Mohammed VI of Morocco whereby, in the course of a pre-arranged meeting at the Fouquet Hotel in Paris on 26 June 2014, he had induced Zakaria Moumni: (a) to make false allegations against the King's close aide Mounir Majidi that he, Majidi, had threatened to kill Moumni, and (b) to bring a criminal complaint against Majidi on the basis of such false allegations so that Majidi would be arrested in France;
(2) that the Claimant had instructed Moumni to lie to cover up the plot by claiming, falsely, that his meeting with the Claimant at the Fouquet Hotel had been coincidental;
(3) that the Claimant had orchestrated a similar plot against Abdellatif Hamouchi, the head of Morocco's anti-espionage agency, in the February before this, which had resulted in Hamouchi's being called in for questioning by the French judicial authorities, and the Claimant was therefore responsible for the resultant negative impact on French-Moroccan relations."
Mr Rushbrooke QC on behalf of Moulay Hicham placed particular emphasis on the words in the article which it was said would affect...
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