It’s a major escalation in France’s clampdown on solidarity with Palestine — and the latest sign of the politicization of the country’s justice system. Two prominent left-wing figures will soon face questioning before state investigators for possible charges of “apology for terrorism.” It’s a controversial infraction under French law, which criminalizes forms of expression said to support acts of terrorism or paint them in a positive light.

On April 19, Rima Hassan received a summons for preliminary questioning in an investigation over her statements on the Israel-Palestine conflict. A prominent human rights activist and a France Insoumise candidate in June’s elections to the European Parliament, Hassan is scheduled to meet with investigators in Paris on April 30. Then the prosecutor’s office will decide to either pursue charges or drop a potential case against her.

The announcement of an investigation concluded what was already a turbulent week for the Franco-Palestinian jurist, whose criticism of Israeli colonization and its devastating war on Gaza have made her into a bête noire for both political opponents and France’s right-leaning media landscape. Under pressure from local and national figures, the president of the University of Lille cancelled Hassan’s scheduled appearance before students on April 18 alongside Jean-Luc Mélenchon. A rally was ultimately held in a public square in Lille after a substitute meeting was banned under orders of the local police prefecture.