In France, Lawfare Is Used to Silence Pro-Palestine Lawmaker
France’s political elites have made vague criticisms of Benjamin Netanyahu but refused to denounce the genocide in Gaza. Now left-wing lawmaker Rima Hassan has been dragged to trial because she defends Palestinians’ right to resist occupation.
A member of the EU parliament for France Insoumise, Rima Hassan, today faces trial for “apologia for terrorism.” At first combined with baseless drug allegations, the case is a clear attempt by pro-Israel lobby groups to silence defenders of Palestine. (Henrique Campos / Hans Lucas via AFP)
On July 7, France Insoumise Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan will appear in court for the first time, after two years of judicial harassment from French pro-Israel organizations, Emmanuel Macron’s government, and the far right.
The case against Hassan is based on so-called “apologia for terrorism” laws, after Hassan posted a tweet affirming the Palestinian right to self-defense. It’s a controversial position in mainstream French political culture, which still doesn’t recognize Israel’s genocide against Palestine or France’s own obligations under international law to prevent it.
“I gave my youth to the Palestinian cause. As long as there is oppression, resistance is not only a right, it is a duty,” Hassan tweeted. The quote came from Kōzō Okamoto, a member of the Japanese Red Army who made this comment while on trial for a terrorist attack that killed twenty-six people at an airport near Tel Aviv in 1972.
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