Hostages complain over TV coverage

A GROUP of people who were taken hostage in the Jewish supermarket siege in Paris in January are taking legal action against a French TV news channel, claiming it endangered their lives.

The Paris prosecutor's office has received the complaint against BFMTV, which aired rolling coverage from outside the supermarket at the Porte de Vincennes after it was stormed by Amédy Coulibaly, an accomplice of the Kouachi brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

The hostages took issue with some of the commentary that accompanied the live images, including one journalist who told viewers that "a woman is hiding in a cold room at the back of the store".

Seven hostages, including a 10-month-old baby, had sought refuge in this room. The lawyer bringing the case, Me Klugman, told reporters: "Telling viewers where people were hiding, in the middle of a hostage crisis, is a mistake that cannot go unpunished.

"We know that the hostage-taker was watching the TV. A piece of information, even if true, should not put people's lives in danger."

The French broadcasting regulator, the CSA, has already written to several news outlets about their coverage of the dual siege at the Jewish supermarket and at a print-works on the outskirts of the capital.

The regulator uncovered 36 incidences where it believes TV and radio stations breached the broadcasting code. Among them were reports that gave too much detail about police movements around the store.

The maximum possible sentence for endangering public life is a year in prison and a €15,000 fine. BFMTV declined to comment on the case.