Mauritius paper apologises for Michaela pictures

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17.07.12

The editor of The Sunday Times paper in Mauritius has apologised after it published pictures of the body of murdered teacher Michaela McAreavey on Sunday.

General Imran Hosany last night issued a statement to say that the reason for publishing the photos was "not sensationalism" but rather "to recall that such a heinous crime remained unpunished".

The Harte and McAreavey families reject the statement and said, in a statement releasd on their behalf, that "the hurt this man and his newspaper have caused over the past 48 hours cannot be undone. As an Editor he made a calculated decision to use photographs and images that no responsible media outlet would have touched."

The publication of the pictures has caused a public outcry in Ireland.

Yesterday, the Irish ambassador to Mauritius revealed that he will travel to the popular holiday island to lodge a formal complaint with the Mauritian government.

Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minsiter, Martin McGuinness, has said that he will be travelling to London on Thursday to complain about the publication of the pictures to the Mauritian high commissioner.