Selective French Freedom of Expression: Comedian Dieudonne Arrested Over Paris Attack Comment, January 14, 2015

Selective French Freedom of Expression: Comedian Dieudonne Arrested Over Paris Attack Comment

January 14, 2015


French comedian Dieudonné at a Paris courthouse on December 13, 2013

French comedian arrested over Paris attack comment

France 24, 2015-01-14

Notorious French comedian Dieudonné was arrested Wednesday for being an "apologist for terrorism" after writing a Facebook comment suggesting he sympathised with one of the Paris attacks gunmen, a judicial source said.

Prosecutors had opened the case against him on Monday after he posted "Tonight, as far as I'm concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly" -- mixing the popular slogan "Je Suis Charlie" used in homage to the journalists killed at magazine Charlie Hebdo, with a reference to gunman Amedy Coulibaly.

Coulibaly killed four Jews at a Jewish supermarket on Friday and a policewoman the day before.

The comedian made international headlines in 2013 when French footballer Nicolas Anelka was banned for five matches by English football authorities for using a hand-gesture created by Dieudonne that many people consider anti-Semitic.

Dieudonne made his controversial Facebook post after attending Sunday's unity march against extremism that brought more than 1.5 million people onto the streets of Paris in the wake of the attacks.

He described the march -- considered the biggest rally in modern French history -- as "a magical moment comparable to the big-bang".

The government has in the past banned Dieudonne's shows because it considers them "anti-Semitic".

In response to the interior minister's comment, the comedian said the government was trying to "ruin my life" when "I am only trying to make people laugh".

He has removed the offending remark from his Facebook page.

(AFP)

Date created : 2015-01-14

***

Share this article with your facebook friends

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.