France: student prison Wrote that a history teacher “deserves” death

The student, who belongs to a Muslim family of Algerian origin, posted a comment on Facebook about Samuel Bate, the murdered history teacher, stating: “He doesn’t deserve to have his head cut off, but to die, yes.” And the student regretted in court what she wrote “hastily and without narration”, acknowledging her error and confirming that it completely contradicts her views, as quoted by “Agence France-Presse”.

This came after the student commented on an article published by the newspaper “Lee Republic” on her Facebook page, and announced a march in honor of the teacher’s memory, “She doesn’t deserve to have her head cut off, but she does To die”. A user of the “Pharos” platform reported this comment and led to his arrest on Thursday at the University of Besançon and his arrest under police investigation.

The student said in court: “I am sorry I wrote this comment and I apologize and do not agree with what she wrote,” stating that she “deleted that very night” the comment she wrote “hastily” and “without thinking.” And the student continued in court: “I made a big mistake and these messages do not coincide with my views.” She confirmed that she was not aware of the exact circumstances of the teacher’s beheading incident on October 16 when she posted the comment on Facebook. “I am not against what Samuel Patti did by showing a cartoon,” said the young woman. “He is a teacher who gives his lessons as he pleases.”

The young woman belongs to a Muslim family, which says she “practices her religion at home” and that she fled the violence in Algeria. “We are in a situation where we cannot write or say anything without thinking,” said Attorney General Margaret Barretti, who requested a six-month suspended prison sentence and 180 hours of community service.

The defendant’s attorney, Caroline Espucci, described her client as “a young, well-integrated woman … she doesn’t watch the news much” and doesn’t know “much about Samuel Patti.” He added that he had found a “video recording of a student’s parents” in which he condemned the use of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad by a history and geography teacher during a fourth-year course on freedom of expression.

The lawyer added that her client understood that it was about “ridiculing Muslims,” ​​noting that she “wrote her comments without seeking information and her reaction was immediate” on social media.