The leader of the rebellious deputies Mathilde Panot announced, this Tuesday, April 23, that she would be summoned by the police as part of an investigation for “apology of terrorism” opened following a press release from the parliamentary group published on October 7 last, the day of the unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas against Israel.
“This is the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic that a president of an opposition group in the National Assembly has been summoned for such a serious reason,” assured the elected official in a press release. “I solemnly warn about this serious exploitation of justice aimed at gagging political expressions,” added the MP for Val-de-Marne.
On October 7, the LFI group published a text which sparked controversy because it particularly compared the Hamas attack, described as “an armed offensive by Palestinian forces” and “the intensification of the Israeli occupation policy ” in the Palestinian territories.
“The entire anti-genocide political and intellectual sphere is threatened. An unprecedented event in the history of our democracy. We now know who is threatening freedom of conscience and why: protecting a genocide!”, the leader of France quickly reacted rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the social network. “An unprecedented and extremely serious authoritarian shift,” denounced Manuel Bompard, national coordinator of LFI and deputy for Bouches-du-Rhône.
Rima Hassan already summoned last week
This news comes four days after the candidate for the European elections Rima Hassan, seventh on Manon Aubry’s rebellious list, also announced her summons by the judicial police for “apology of terrorism”. “I believe I have nothing to reproach myself for, having always expressed myself critically both towards Hamas and its terrorist mode of operation but also towards Israel,” she reacted to AFP on Friday.
The rebels denounce an instrumentalization of justice, ensuring that they are made to pay for their support for the Palestinians and their use of the term “genocide” to describe the situation in Gaza.
Last week, two conferences by Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the situation in the Middle East were canceled in Lille, first at the university then in a private room. “An abuse of power of a banana republic,” castigated the leader of the Insoumis.