WADA to appeal after Paris court condemns "presumption of innocence breach" regarding adviser to former IAAF President

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has said it will appeal after the High Court of Paris sentenced the organisation for an "infringement of the presumption of innocence" concerning Habib Cissé, the former adviser to the ex-head of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Lamine Diack.

Cissé was placed in custody earlier this week as part of the French investigation into corruption linked to state-sponsored doping of Russian athletes.

He was put under investigation in November of last year for corruption along with Diack and former IAAF anti-doping director Gabriel Dollé.

This followed the release of the first part of the report of the WADA Independent Commission, chaired by Richard Pound, which was launched to investigate the validity of allegations made by German broadcaster ARD’s documentary titled "Top secret doping - how Russia makes its winners?".

On January 14, the second part of the Independent Commission's report was released in which Diack's lawyer Cissé was described as being "at the heart of the schemes for disrupting IAAF results management by intentionally delaying results management and interfering with the pursuit of prosecution of Russian athletes, thereby attempting to cover up doping infractions of Russian athletes".

The report also claimed "he was also a co-conspirator in the extortion of athletes to cover up, delay or eliminate disciplinary sanctions of Russian athletes".

Habib Cissé was former President Lamine Diack's (pictured) legal adviser at the IAAF ©Getty Images

WADA and Pound have been accused of a "prejudice of guilt" against Cissé, who the High Court has determined should receive €8,000 (£7,100/$8,700) in damages and €2,500 (£2,200/$2,700) for legal costs.

"WADA can confirm that it will be appealing the decision," the organisation told insidethegames.

"As with all pending cases, we will refrain from further comment until the completion of the process."

Diack was arrested by French authorities last November over allegations he took payments for deferring sanctions against Russian drugs cheats.

His son Papa Massata Diack was among three officials to be banned for life from athletics in January by the IAAF’s Ethics Commission, which concluded that figures within the organisation had been "guilty of blackmail" since 2011.

Valentin Balakhnichev, previously the Soviet national athletics coach from 1978 to 1984, was also banned for life along with long-distance running and race-walking coach Alexei Melnikov following allegations of doping cover-ups.

Dollé, meanwhile, was handed a five-year ban.

Russia is banned by the IAAF from competing abroad following allegations uncovered by Richard Pound in his Independent Commission report ©Getty Images

Russia is banned by the IAAF from competing abroad following allegations uncovered by Pound in his Independent Commission report.

Last week, it was revealed that Alexander Zhukov plans to step down as President of the Russian Olympic Committee.

That means he could lose his position as a member of the International Olympic Committee.