Victory for Seralini: Scientist who published research against GMOs wins defamation lawsuit in Paris

Marc Fellous, former chairman of France’s Biomolecular Engineering Commission, was indicted by the High Court of Paris on November 25 for “forgery” and “the use of forgery,” in a libel case initiated by Prof. Gilles-Eric Séralini.

Though details of the case have yet to be released publicly, sources told GM Watch that Fellous had copied the signature of a scientist without the latter’s acquiescence, to argue that Séralini and his co-researchers were wrong in their reassessment of Monsanto studies. Séralini’s team reported finding signs of toxicity in the raw data from Monsanto’s own rat feeding studies with GM maize.^[1]

Fellous is expected to be sentenced in June 2016.

In yet another victory for Séralini’s team, the 17th Criminal Chamber of the High Court of Paris recently passed sentence finding Marianne magazine guilty of public defamation of a public official and public defamation of the researchers of CRIIGEN, an independent research organization.

The case stemmed from an article written by Jean-Claude Jaillette and published in Marianne magazine in September 2012, saying that “researchers around the world” had voiced “harsh words” about the research of Séralini and his team on the toxic effects of a GMO and Roundup over a long-term period – research that was supported by the independent organisation CRIIGEN. The journalist wrote of a “scientific fraud in which the methodology served to reinforce pre-determined results”.^[1]

Séralini, his team, and CRIIGEN then challenged this allegation in a defamation lawsuit. During the trial, it was determined that the original author of the accusation published in Marianne was the American lobbyist Henry I. Miller.

“Miller had previously lobbied to discredit research linking tobacco to cancer and heart disease on behalf of the tobacco industry. Since then, he has tried to do the same in support of GMOs and pesticides, through defamation,” as reported by gmoseralini.org.^[1]

To support CRIIGEN’s advocacy, and to aid it in its past and future legal cases and independent research, the organization is making a call for donations via this website.

Source:

[1] GMOSeralini.org