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French Government Hopes Graphic Video Will Stop Youths From Turning to Jihad French Comedian Stands Trial Over Comment Against Jewish Journalist
(about 1 hour later)
PARIS — In a bid to stop the flow of disaffected youth to the battlefields of Syria and Iraq, the French government on Wednesday released a graphic two-minute video showing clips of executions, wounded children and crucifixions that tells potential recruits that the glory promised to them is a lie. PARIS — The provocative French comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala stood trial in criminal court on Wednesday over a comment he made lamenting that a prominent Jewish journalist did not die in “the gas chambers,” prosecutors said.
The video, which appears on an Interior Ministry website, Stop Djihadisme, raises what the government believes are the top arguments made by the Islamic State terrorist group and other jihadist recruiters and turns them upside down, point-counterpoint style. It is meant to blunt the appeal of such recruiters, many of whom disseminate their messages through Facebook and online videos.
“You are told: ‘Sacrifice yourself at our side, you will defend a fair cause,' ” the video says. “In reality, you will discover hell on earth and you will die alone, far from your land.”
At another point, it says: “You are told: ‘Come start a family with one of our heroes.’ In reality, you lift up your children in war and terror.” More than 350,000 people have already watched the video on Dailymotion, a video-sharing website.
The website was also introduced on Wednesday, three weeks after terrorist attacks at the Paris offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and at a kosher supermarket in the city that killed 16 people, including four taken hostage at the market. Both attacks, along with the fatal shooting of a French policewoman, were committed by Muslim extremists fighting on behalf of the Islamic State or Al Qaeda in Yemen.
Also Wednesday, a provocative French comedian, Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, whose expression of solidarity with the supermarket gunman led to his detention on charges of condoning terrorism, stood trial in criminal court in another case, over a comment he made lamenting that a prominent Jewish journalist did not die in “the gas chambers,” prosecutors said.
Mr. M’bala M’bala has become an emblem in France of the struggle between upholding the secular republic’s commitment to free speech while maintaining public safety and preventing hate crimes.Mr. M’bala M’bala has become an emblem in France of the struggle between upholding the secular republic’s commitment to free speech while maintaining public safety and preventing hate crimes.
That tension was once again laid bare after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, when Mr. M’bala M’bala was arrested for comments suggesting that he sympathized with Amedy Coulibaly,the extremist who killed the hostages at the supermarket. “Tonight, as far as I’m concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly,” he wrote on Facebook, referring to the slogan “Je suis Charlie,” which arose after the Charlie Hebdo killings, meant to show solidarity with the cartoonists who were killed. That tension was once again laid bare after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, when Mr. M’bala M’bala was detained over comments suggesting that he sympathized with Amedy Coulibaly, the gunman who killed four hostages at a kosher supermarket before being killed by the police.
The case that went to trial on Wednesday, in which Mr. M’bala M’bala is accused of inciting racial hatred, dates to 2013, when footage of him taken by a hidden camera was broadcast on France 2, including his comment about the journalist, Patrick Cohen. The comment prompted a police investigation and a government ban of his show. France has stringent laws restricting racist speech; if found guilty, he could face one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros, or about $51,000. The case being tried Wednesday against Mr. M’bala M’bala, on charges of inciting racial hatred, dates to 2013 when footage of him taken by a hidden camera was broadcast on France 2, including his comment about the journalist, Patrick Cohen. The comment helped prompt a police investigation and a government ban of his show. France has stringent laws restricting racist speech; if found guilty, he could face one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros, or about $51,000.
Mr. M’bala M’bala has been charged nearly 40 times with violating anti-hate laws. In the past, he has sought to circumvent restrictions imposed on him by turning to the Internet and to social media, where he has accumulated a large and loyal following.Mr. M’bala M’bala has been charged nearly 40 times with violating anti-hate laws. In the past, he has sought to circumvent restrictions imposed on him by turning to the Internet and to social media, where he has accumulated a large and loyal following.
Mr. M’bala M’bala denies that he is an anti-Semite and has cast himself as a trenchant voice against the establishment. Referring to the recent publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad by Charlie Hebdo, his defenders say that the legal cases against him reflect a double standard by which it is acceptable to insult Muslims but not Jews. Mr. M’bala M’bala has denied that he is an anti-Semite and has cast himself as a trenchant voice against the establishment. Referring to the recent publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, his defenders say that the legal cases against him reflect a double standard by which it is acceptable to insult Muslims but not Jews.
However, some legal experts counter that while Charlie Hebdo heaps scorn on all religions, Mr. M’bala M’bala has targeted a specific group, Jews, and that has made him more vulnerable to legal complaints.However, some legal experts counter that while Charlie Hebdo heaps scorn on all religions, Mr. M’bala M’bala has targeted a specific group, Jews, and that has made him more vulnerable to legal complaints.
In the weeks after the attacks in and around Paris, the French authorities have moved aggressively to rein in speech supporting terrorism, including using a new law that allows harsh penalties against those found guilty. In the weeks following the attacks in and around Paris, including at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the French authorities have moved aggressively to rein in speech supporting terrorism, including using a new law that allows harsh penalties against those found guilty.
Mr. M’bala M’bala was arrested this month on charges of condoning terrorism after posting a message on Facebook that declared: “Tonight, as far as I’m concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly,” a reference to the slogan “Je suis Charlie” meant to show solidarity with the cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo who were killed.
At the same time, the authorities have sought to stem the flow of French youth leaving for the battlefields of Syria and Iraq to fight for the Islamic State, including trying to blunt the appeal of jihadist recruiters, many of whom disseminate their messages through Facebook and online videos.
On Wednesday, in an effort designed to “decipher jihadi propaganda,” the Interior Ministry released a two-minute video on the government website stop-djihadisme.com. The video shows clips of executions, wounded children, crucifixions and mothers crying.
The video features statements aimed at refuting the recruiters’ messages, in a point-counterpoint style. “You are told: sacrifice yourself at our side, you will defend a fair cause,” one says. “In reality, you will discover hell on earth and you will die alone, far from your land.”