Almost a decade after bringing about the resignation of the director of the Mudam, the Lunghi case has taken a new turn: the Court of Appeal has finally acquitted former RTL journalists Marc Thoma and Sophie Schram, who were prosecuted for defamation and slander following the report broadcast in October 2016 on the altercation between Sophie Schram and Enrico Lunghi, according to RTL.
This decision overturns the conviction handed down by the criminal court in December 2023. At the time, Marc Thoma and Sophie Schram had each been fined €1,000 and ordered to pay a symbolic €1 in damages to Enrico Lunghi. The former managing director of RTL Luxembourg, Alain Berwick, and Steve Schmit, were acquitted.
The incident dates back to autumn 2016. During the programme “Den Nol op de Kapp”, Sophie Schram interviewed Enrico Lunghi about the criticism levelled at the Mudam by certain Luxembourgish artists. During the interview, the museum director pushed the journalist’s microphone away and briefly grabbed her arm. Eleven days later, RTL broadcast a report revisiting the incident. The affair immediately took on national significance. Disciplinary proceedings were initiated against Enrico Lunghi, who eventually stepped down from his position as director of the Mudam.
From a minor altercation to a long-running legal saga
Over the years, the legal debate has gradually shifted from the incident itself to the journalistic coverage of the event. Enrico Lunghi argued that the report broadcast by RTL presented a distorted version of reality. At the heart of the discussions was, in particular, the removal of approximately 28 seconds of footage showing the interview continuing after the incident, as well as the apology made by Enrico Lunghi. According to the former director of Mudam, this edit had contributed to distorting the perception of the facts.
At the appeal hearing, however, the Public Prosecutor’s Office had sought confirmation of the two journalists’ guilt, whilst stating that it would be satisfied with a minimum fine of €251. The prosecution considered that the editing had portrayed Enrico Lunghi in a more unfavourable light than was justified by the full footage. The defence lawyers, on the other hand, argued that no deliberate manipulation had taken place and that the editing was a matter of standard editorial and technical choices.
The proceedings have also seen several twists and turns. In 2025, the judges had suspended their deliberations following the discovery of a document relating to steps taken by Enrico Lunghi with the Medical Council concerning Sophie Schram’s medical records. This discovery led to a ‘break in deliberations’ and contributed to further prolonging a case that had already been ongoing for several years.
In the meantime, the case has given rise to a second legal proceeding. In March 2026, Enrico Lunghi and his wife Catherine Gaeng were convicted in a separate case relating to the publication of the book “Donc, nous avons menti au public” (So, we lied to the public), which reproduced material from the investigation file. This parallel legal dispute illustrates the extent to which this case has continued to have legal consequences far beyond the initial report.
With the acquittal handed down on appeal, a particularly painful chapter in Luxembourg’s media history appears to be coming to a close. The case led to the resignation of the director of the country’s leading contemporary art museum, triggered a major crisis at RTL Luxembourg, and resulted in internal investigations, several legal proceedings and years of court battles.
