LuxLeaks prosecutors seek 18 months' jail for whistleblowers

Luxembourg prosecutors today called for two whistleblowers on trial over the "LuxLeaks" scandal to be given jail sentences of 18 months, and for a journalist to be fined.
Frenchmen Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet, both former employees of auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), are accused of leaking thousands of documents to journalist Edouard Perrin.
The documents revealed the huge tax breaks that tiny EU nation Luxembourg offers international firms including Apple, IKEA and Pepsi, saving the companies billions of dollars (euros) in taxes.
A verdict is not expected until mid-June.
"Deltour and Halet are not really whistleblowers, and Perrin has broken the law," deputy state prosecutor David Lentz told the court as he summed up the prosecution's case two weeks after the trial began.

He said that he had taken into consideration the revelations on "certain doubtful practices" exposed by the leaks but that they had nonetheless broken Luxembourg's laws.

"We are here to deliver justice. They must be judged on what they did, this trial has to take place. It's disagreeable, but my job is to protect society against all abuse of the law," he added.
The maximum penalty available was a jail sentence of 10 years for the charges against the two whistleblowers which include stealing documents, revealing business secrets and violation of professional secrets.
"For Deltour and Halet we ask for the same sentence: the confiscation of objects seized in France, a fine and 18 months in prison. For Perrin we ask for a fine," Lentz added.

The prosecutor said he would not object if some of the jail sentences were suspended, adding that it was up to the judge to decide.
Rights groups have said the three are being unfairly prosecuted.
Fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed the extent of surveillance programmes run by the US National Security Agency, had offered support, Deltour's lawyer said.
"Antoine, Edward Snowden wishes you good luck," lawyer William Bourdon told the court.
The two former PwC employees have both defended their actions.
Deltour, who was the first person to leak documents to Perrin, told the court last week he was proud to have opened up the issue of tax breaks for multinationals.