Activist for peace in Palestine sentenced to prison in France for ‘glorifying terrorism’

ANKARA (AA) – An activist in France affiliated with the global Palestinian solidarity movement has been sentenced to three years in prison for “glorifying terrorism” on social media, broadcaster France 3 reported.

Amira Zaiter, an activist from the southern city of Nice, was placed into custody on September 19 for the “glorification of terrorism, glorification of crimes against humanity, and hate speech on social media,” the channel said.

The founder of ‘De Nice a Gaza’ (From Nice to Gaza) was sentenced to three years of imprisonment, with two years suspended and one year under an electronic bracelet.

Zaiter organized the first protests in support of Palestine in Nice in October 2023, when Israel launched its ongoing war on Gaza.

Last month, the Paris prosecutor’s office requested an eight-month suspended prison sentence for another activist, Elias d’Imzalene, who was charged with “public provocation to hatred or violence” following remarks he made during a rally in Paris, where he mentioned the word “intifada.” (Intifada in Arabic means uprising for a cause).

He was taken into custody on September 24 for calling for an uprising during a demonstration on September 8.

While modern secular-liberal France prides itself in its values of free speech, Arabs and Muslims protesting against the ongoing genocide in Palestine are accused of anti-Semitism and hate speech.