French comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala was arrested Wednesday for allegedly expressing sympathy for one of the Paris attack terrorists in a Facebook post, The Guardian reported.
“Tonight, as far as I’m concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly,” the comedian allegedly wrote, as quoted by The Guardian. The post has since been removed, and it combined the slogan “Je suis Charlie” with the name of Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four people in a Paris kosher market.
An anonymous justice source told The Guardian that Dieudonné was arrested for being an “apologist for terrorism.”
Dieudonné — infamous for his “quenelle” gesture that critics say is reminiscent of the Nazi salute — attended the rally for free speech in Paris on Sunday, which he also called “a magical moment comparable to the big bang” in his Facebook post.
The French government had previously banned the comedian’s show for anti-Semitism. The U.K. also barred Dieudonné from entering the country last year.
Guess the French haven’t learned what freedom of speech really means…
‘Apologist for terrorism’? Really?
He may be an asshole but he didn’t make any threats and he’s free to say whatever asshole thing he wants to say.
The French better be careful they are not going the way of Israel - the oppressed becoming the oppressor by using terrorism as an excuse.
Indeed – according to the AP:
“In a city still shaken after deadly Islamic terror attacks, authorities said 54 people had been detained for defending or glorifying terrorism.”
Just wow.
Israel is the best example you could think of? Israel has free speech protections. How about Egypt? That’s a country where you can get arrested for saying something the government doesn’t like.
Apparently you can in France also. What exactly is your point?
This is typically used to deflect any criticism, even minor, about Israel. Israel treats Palestinians poorly. What about Syria? Syria tortures it’s own people…