54 people arrested in France in crackdown on hate speech
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FRANCE has ordered prosecutors around the country to crack down on hate speech, anti-Semitism and glorifying terrorism, saying yesterday that 54 people had been arrested for such offenses since terror attacks left 20 dead in Paris last week, including three gunmen.
The order came as the new issue of Charlie Hebdo sold out before dawn in Paris, with scuffles at kiosks over dwindling copies of the satirical magazine that fronted the Prophet Mohammad on its cover.
France has been tightening security and searching for accomplices since the terror attacks began, but none of the 54 people have been linked to the attacks. That’s raising questions about whether President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government is impinging on the very freedom of speech that it so vigorously defends when it comes to Charlie Hebdo.
Among the people held was Dieudonne, a controversial comic with repeated convictions for racism and anti-Semitism.
France has strong laws against hate speech and anti-Semitism. In a message to all prosecutors and judges, the Justice Ministry laid out the legal basis for rounding up those who defend the Paris terror attacks as well as those responsible for racist or anti-Semitic words or acts. The order did not mention Islam.
A top leader of Yemen’s al-Qaida branch yesterday claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo attack, saying in a video that the massacre came in “vengeance for the prophet.”
The core of the magazine’s staff perished a week ago when gunmen stormed its offices, killing 12 people and igniting three days of bloodshed around Paris. The attacks ended on Friday when security forces killed all three gunmen.
Working out of borrowed offices, Charlie Hebdo employees who survived the massacre put out the issue that appeared yesterday with a print run of 3 million — more than 50 times its usual circulation.
The Justice Ministry said the 54 people held included four minors and several had already been convicted under special measures.
In its message to prosecutors and judges, the ministry said it was issuing the order to protect freedom of expression from comments that could incite violence or hatred.
The French government is also writing broader new laws designed to fight terrorism, spokesman Stephane Le Foll said yesterday.
Furthermore it said it is launching a project to rethink its education system, urban policies and integration model, in an apparent recognition that last week’s attacks exposed deeper problems of inequality.
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