THE publishers of the Euro Weekly News are due in court in Almeria this morning in a libel case.

JOURNALIST: Lenox Napier
JOURNALIST: Lenox Napier

The owners of the publication – that claims to be Europe’s leading free newspaper – are seeking damages against journalist Lenox Napier.

Steven and Michel Euesden are also demanding that Napier is sentenced to two years in prison for a series of blog entries claiming they had ‘stolen’ their newspaper off him.

Almeria-based Napier, who runs a website The Entertainer, claimed the couple – a former nightclub owner and double glazing salesman – failed to pay up after a ‘staff buy out’ in the 1990s.

He claimed in interviews that the paper suddenly changed its name without agreement to the Euro Weekly News in 2002.

The Euesdens, from Manchester, had joined the Entertainers’ sales team in the 1990s.

Despite already successfully silencing his section Weeniewatch, about the paper and its owners, the Euesden’s are expected to tell Almeria Penal Court 4 how Napier has consistently libeled them.

The couple famously appeared on the Piers Morgan documentary on Marbella claiming that disgraced former mayor Jesus Gil, a convicted fraudster, was like a ‘Robin Hood’ figure.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. REF my comment NOT PRINTED… why have THREE stories about the same people on your home page? Why did you not print my comment asking this earlier? I did not swear, I did not offend anyone, I simply DO NOT WANT TO READ about your personal battles.

    • The three stories are a series of stories about a court case, one of the biggest affecting expats in southern Spain given the size of the Euro Weekly News. One in advance of the trial, one the Euesden’s evidence, and one from Napier’s point of view. No bias, no spin, just the facts as reported from the trial, and the verdict in due course.

      Both of your comments are live on the site, Gina. They sometimes back up as we do not have a dedicated moderator.

      Finally, re: the comment about the Euesdens being accused of being pornographers. I attended the trial and when asked about the five magazines they previously owned, Michel confirmed to the judge, when asked if they were ‘of a sexual nature’ that they were.

  2. Sorry Claire, but, having also attended the trial, I disagree. The fact is that Michel Euesden was not asked by the defence lawyer about five magazines, she was asked about one, called ‘Contact’.
    She responded that this was, as claimed, a magazine which contained adult contacts and articles of a sexual nature, but that it was just one of several magazines published by EWN, all of which were later sold.
    The other magazines were of varying content, such as business and finance, and no mention has ever been made of them being of a sexual nature.

  3. Claire, your comment about this trial “affecting expats” seems to have been removed from the site. When you justified the reporting of this case earlier, you said it was important because it was “affecting expats” and I just wanted to know how? Can you explain please?

    It’s a pity your editor talks about free speech and then goes and removes my original comment to you.

  4. Fred, you must be losing the plot…
    But, happy to answer for Claire..
    It affects expats because it is news relevent to expats living in Spain… many who may have dealt with the EWN, worked there, advertised there or just read it.
    And they might want to know about its history and what its owners are up to.
    Not every article has to be about Doom and Gloom, politics, property values or the environment, or mountain biking in the Sierra Sur!

  5. No Jon, not losing the plot, that’s just what you want people to think perhaps lol? Anyway, Google cache quickly shows the page at different time intervals and the missing comments. Anyway, thanks for the reply. Anyone else been “affected” by this news? I asked my gardener and he hasn’t.

  6. The stories you mention are a bit more interesting though!! I read a bit of this but was bored after a while, but I appreciate you are probably more passionate about this story than us as it is close to your heart. Someone has tried to do another out of money… Greater crimes happen in Spain every day by officials.

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