A film crew making an RTE documentary on the Chief State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, caused the adjournment yesterday of an inquest into the death of a Russian student in Co Dublin.
Lawyers threatened to take High Court action and walked out with witnesses and family friends of Mr Eugenie Roussine (17), who was found dead at his home in Mount Merrion Avenue, Blackrock, in April. The student was studying at a Dublin business school.
Mr Felix McEnroy, barrister, told the coroner at Dun Laoghaire Court that the film crew had caused distress to his witnesses, who also had linguistic problems.
The film-maker, Charlemount Film Ltd, said after the inquest it had been commissioned by RTE to make a documentary on the work of Dr Harbison.
Dr Bartley Sheehan, the Dublin county coroner, said there might have been "a certain insensitivity" about the presence of the film cameras.
After nearly three hours of legal argument, both in and out of the coroner's chambers, the inquest was adjourned to October 8th.