Facebook comment puts French comedian on trial
Dieudonne
Mbala told a Paris court on Wednesday that he condemned last month’s
deadly Paris attacks “without any ambiguity” as he stood trial.
“Of course I condemn the attacks without any restraint and without any ambiguity,” Dieudonne said.
The
controversial comedian angered French authorities after posting a
statement online saying “Je Suis Coulibaly” (I feel like Charlie
Coulibaly), after thousands marched in the French capital with the
slogan “Je suis Charlie” in solidarity with the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
Two
gunmen stormed through Charlie Hebdo’s office, killing 11 people on
January 7, a day before Coulibaly attacked a Kosher shop killing four
hostages.
Dieudonne was arrested on January 14.
After
France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called on authorities to
investigate Dieudonne’s remarks, the comedian wrote a response on his
Facebook page saying that he was being treated as a public enemy when
all he wanted to do was make a joke.
Dieudonne’s
“I feel like Charlie Coulibaly” remark was meant to be a play on words
of the popular “I am Charlie Hebdo” slogan used to show support to the
newspaper and freedom of speech in the wake of the attack.
But now many view his indictment as a violation of freedom of speech itself and an example of the government’s double standard.
Al
Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, reporting from Paris, said: “The case has
raised new questions about French values of freedom, equality and
fraternity.”
If found guilty of conding terrorism, he could face up to seven years in prison.
Dieudonne,
who is already facing a string of separate charges in Paris, had
previously been convicted numerous times for inciting anti-semitism.
“He
is currently involved in several trials here, on charges ranging from
slander, to incitement to racial hatred, to condoning terrorism. In all
the cases, he denies the charges,” Al Jazeera’s correspondent said.
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