Thursday, March 2, 2017

Ultra-Right LePen in Trouble

MEPs have removed Marine Le Pen’s parliamentary immunity, allowing French prosecutors to take legal action against the far-right leader for tweeting gruesome images of killings by Islamic State militants.

[...]

The prosecutor opened an inquiry under a French law banning the distribution of violent images or those inciting terrorism.

[...]

The Front National leader, an MEP since 2004, tweeted three uncensored pictures of Isis killings in December 2015, after a spat with a journalist who had compared the FN to Isis, known by the Arabic acronym, Daesh.

“Daesh is THIS!” Le Pen said in angry tweets showing the killings, posts that drew revulsion and criticism from bereaved families and French politicians across the political spectrum.

[...]

MEPs enjoy immunity to protect their freedom of speech, but the right is linked to their work in the European parliament and can be lifted after a request from a national authority.

[...]

Under French law, the maximum penalty for distributing violent images is three years in prison and a fine of up to €75,000 (£64,000).

The case is not expected to be concluded until long after the French presidential elections, in which Le Pen is expected to be in the runoff.

  The Guardian
That should create a damper on her chances. Which is good, but I do think this is a harsh and unfair law.
Tuesday’s vote was unrelated to a separate investigation into her alleged misuse of EU funds.

The European parliament and French authorities have launched inquiries after allegations that FN workers had “fake jobs” paid from EU funds. French police raided FN headquarters at Nanterre last week.
None of that should help her, either. Although, who would have thought T-Rump would have been elected after everything people knew about him?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

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