Published Thursday, 22 November 2012
Michaela McAreavey and her husband John on honeymoon days before she was killed. (© Pacemaker)
The 27-year-old teacher, who was the only daughter of Tyrone gaelic football manager Mickey Harte, was strangled in her room in the luxury Legends hotel in Mauritius in January 2011.
Two former hotel workers were acquitted of the crime after a high-profile murder trial during the summer.
Following the trial's end, the Mauritian Sunday Times printed police crime scene photos that showed the newlywed's body.
The family has now launched a civil action against the paper's publisher and editor for damages, claiming the publication outraged Mrs McAreavey's dignity and compromised the police investigation into the crime.
The paper has no connection to the UK and Ireland Sunday Times.
The McAreavey family's lawyer Dick Ng Sui Wa said legal papers have been lodged with the Supreme Court in Mauritius and a date for the first court appearance has been set for 10 January.
He said any damages would be donated to a charity foundation set up in memory of the Ballygawley woman.
"The purpose of the claim is to benefit the foundation," he said.
After the publication in July, the editor of the paper Imran Hosany was charged by Mauritian police with outraging public and religious morality. He denies the charges.
The latest legal development comes after it emerged last month that Mrs McAreavey's relatives have launched a civil case against the hotel where she died for damages that could top £1million.
The hotel has since been renamed Lux.
The basis for that case will be the claim that the hotel failed to provide a safe place for Mrs McAreavey to stay.