Pro-Palestine former president candidate Anasse Kazib sues French TV for 'terrorism' claims

Anasse Kazib, the Franco-Moroccan ex-presidential candidate, is facing "terrorism" accusations over his pro-Palestine stance. He has decided to sue his accusers, starting with France's most-watched television channel, BFMTV.

Last week, Christophe Barbier, an editorialist at BFMTV, questioned Elsa Marcel, Kazib's lawyer, about her support for the politician who "endorses Hamas, terrorism, raping women and killing children."

During the interview, Marcel denied the accusations against the Marxist politician, insisting that he "does not support Hamas" but instead "supports the Palestinian people's liberation and stands against genocide."

Bonjour @BFMTV @C_Barbier ce petit tweet matinal pour vous prévenir que je dépose plainte suite à vos propos, je ne vais pas laisser passer une telle diffamation raciste.

Bravo à ma camarade et avocate @Elsa_Marcel pour avoir tenue dans cette GAV télévisuelle.

Rdv au tribunal. pic.twitter.com/fNd1MQZO1E

— Anasse Kazib (@AnasseKazib) April 12, 2024

"Hello BFMTV and Christophe Barbier, a quick morning tweet to let you know that I am filing a complaint following your remarks. I will not let such racist defamation go unchallenged. (...) See you in court," wrote Kazib on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, 12 April.

In February, the national unit for combating online hate initiated an investigation against the co-founder of Révolution Permanente Party "for publicly advocating an act of terrorism via an online public communication service."

The investigation focuses on a series of tweets in which Kazib described Israel last October as a "bloodthirsty state" responsible for "apartheid" against the Palestinian people.

On 8 April, an anti-terrorism police unit summoned the candidate from the 2022 presidential elections as part of the investigation. So far, he hasn't been convicted.

"These summons are part of the repression affecting many political, trade union, or associative activists for seven months, aiming to criminalize any solidarity with the Palestinian people," Kazib said last week.

French Pro-Palestine activists face courts 

Since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, French courts have initiated a series of trials against activists, athletes and politicians over online pro-Palestine posts.

On 20 February, a court in France debated the question: Can one publicly describe the events of 7 October in Israel as acts of resistance rather than terrorism without facing prosecution in a French court?

This debate occurred during the trial of Mohamed Makni, a 73-year-old Franco-Tunisian retiree and municipal councillor in Échirolles. He was sentenced to four months in jail for charges of "terrorism advocacy" on social media after he refused to condemn Hamas attacks during his trial.

"They [Westerners] are quick to label as terrorist what, in our view, is an obvious act of resistance," read the social media post in question. Makni quoted a statement from a column by former Tunisian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ounaïes.

Meanwhile, in January, former French national basketball team player Émilie Gomis was stripped of her role as an ambassador for the Paris Olympics over a 'controversial' social media post about the Gaza war. She also faced court but was acquitted.

At the start of Israel's war on Gaza, France attempted to ban pro-Palestine rallies, citing a potential rise in antisemitism.

Despite failing to implement the ban, the country now lives in an atmosphere of witch-hunt against anyone who refuses to offer unconditional support for Israel's genocide in Gaza, including the country's left wing.

In January, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Sejourné said, "Accusing the Jewish state of genocide crosses a moral threshold."

"The notion of genocide cannot be exploited for political ends," he told Parliament, justifying Paris' refusal to support the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).