French lawyer suspected of revealing locked up information

Text by: RFI Follow

Jean-Louis Keita, lawyer at the Aix-en-Provence bar, was indicted and imprisoned as part of an investigation for the disclosure of information. He notably defended Omar Raddad or Jacques Vergès.

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A lawyer, because of his profession, is bound by professional secrecy. As such, if it violates this secret by transmitting information relating to the investigation to journalists, for example, or to third parties, the Criminal Code provides for a penalty of up to 1 year of imprisonment and 15 000 euros fine.

It is not the sensitivity of the information disclosed that is at issue, but the fact that the person who reveals it is subject to professional secrecy.

The lawyer Jean-Louis Keita was under investigation for having revealed information on an investigation or an instruction to a person likely to be implied there. The file would relate more specifically to criminal facts and organized crime.

As a result, the penalty for breach of professional secrecy is increased and Jean-Louis Keita faces up to 5 years' imprisonment and a 75,000 euro fine, specifies the Marseille prosecutor's office.

Former president and criminal lawyer, Jean-Louis Keita spent part of his life in Guinea and took refuge with his mother in Aix-en-Provence after the execution of his father, head of the Guinean army in 1971.

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