The court has to assess how real the threat posed by the group to national security was.
In France, the criminal court will give its verdict today, Friday, on the charges brought against the far-right group. The group is known as Les Barjols.
There are 11 men and two women in the indictment. The charges originally concerned the preparation of a terrorist act, for which the maximum penalty is ten years in prison. However, the prosecutor has reduced the punishment requirements because the acts remained at the planning stage.
The group became public in November 2018. At that time, the police arrested its 62-year-old leader, known in France as Jean-Pierre B., and three other people.
They are suspected of plotting to assassinate the president Emmanuel Macron. The murder was allegedly carried out by stabbing while Macron was attending celebrations marking the anniversary of the end of the First World War. During the investigation, a 15-centimeter dagger was found in Jean-Pierre B’s car, and weapons and ammunition were found in his home.
According to the charges, the group’s plans also included attacking mosques and killing Muslims.
Les Barjols group is founded by In French media (you switch to another service) designated Denis C. In 2017, he founded a group on Facebook, which soon became the center of anti-immigrant and anti-Islam debate.
The discussions spread ultra-rightist ideology, contemplated a violent revolution, and presented views that France is undergoing a “population exchange” in which immigrants from the Middle East and Africa are replacing the French.
The name Les Barjols goes back to the French legionnaires who have been stationed in Mali. The group has practiced using weapons.
The prosecutor demands a five-year sentence for the leader of the group and lesser punishments for the others.
The defense relies on the fact that the group was not actually carrying out its intentions, but instead focused on a heated exchange of messages on social media. The court will have to assess how credible the online rage and the murder plans presented there constituted a credible threat.
French interior minister by Gérald Darman according to 11–12 planned terrorist attacks are prevented in the country every year. Three quarters of them are planned by Islamists, but the activities of the extreme right have already become the second biggest security threat.
At the end of last year, the revolutionary plan of the extreme right was revealed in Germany.
Source: AFP
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