Journalist Ian Bailey is to lodge an appeal in the High Court on Monday against the judgment in his libel case against eight newspapers.
The 47-year-old journalist won damages of €8,000 at Cork Circuit Criminal Court against the Sun and the Irish Mirror last month.
He lost his action against six other newspapers which he claimed had defamed him with their coverage of the murder of French woman Ms Sophie Toscan Du Plantier.
Ms Du Plantier was found dead in a laneway at her holiday home near Schull, Co Cork, on December 23rd, 1996. Her head was crushed - forensic examinations determined that she was killed with a concrete block. Last month Judge Patrick Moran ruled that there was nothing defamatory in the newspaper coverage of Bailey being linked to the murder of the film-maker. The judge said the coverage did not identify him as a murderer. He said newspapers reported correctly that he was a suspect and they reported his assertions that he had nothing to do with the murder.
Bailey was awarded €8,000 against the Sun and the Mirror, but not for their coverage of the murder of Ms du Plantier.
The money, €4,000 against each, was awarded against the two newspapers because of unsubstantiated reports that he had assaulted his former wife, Ms Sarah Limbrick. Judge Moran expressed the view that Bailey had, on the balance of probabilities, confessed to the murder of Ms du Plantier in conversations with three people. Last night, Ms Jules Thomas, Mr Bailey's partner, said regarding the appeal: "It was very unfair, justice was not served - that's what this is all about. Ian is an innocent man - would a guilty person put themselves through this a second time?"
During the trial extensive evidence was heard of incidents when Ms Thomas was brutally beaten by Bailey during domestic rows.
Yesterday, when asked about this evidence reappearing, she said "It's all out there anyway. I know it's a bit like public confessional - it doesn't make any difference," she added.
Ms Thomas said that the articles were "horrific" and she was deeply traumatised by them.