The Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) announced on X, formerly Twitter, that it would file a complaint against the Urgence Palestine collective and La France Insoumise member of parliament Sophia Chikirou on grounds of "apology for terrorism," the French daily Le Parisien said on Friday.
French law defines apology for terrorism "as presenting or commenting favorably either on terrorism in general or on terrorist acts already committed."
Based on social media screen captures, Le Parisien noted that Chikirou appeared to have reposted on a private social media account posts created by Urgence Palestine containing photos and captions with background on Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Among one of the photos presented by the French daily is a black and white image of Haniyeh along with a caption written by Haniyeh's son, eulogizing him.
Voici ce que relaye Sophia Chikirou sur son compte Instagram personnel: ni plus ni moins qu’un hommage vibrant au chef du Hamas assassiné hier. Électeurs sincères du NFP du 20eme et 11e arrondissement, voici notre député: la honte. @chikirouparis tu n’es pas de gauche. pic.twitter.com/kYzhDxJw2L
— Raphaël (@RaphaAssouline) August 1, 2024
Requesting the lifting of parliamentary immunity
The statement posted on UEJF's X, read "By presenting the leader of a terrorist organization as a martyr responsible for a resistance organization and by passing over in silence his crimes deliberately targeting civilians, Urgence Palestine and Sophia Chikirou intend to present Ismail Haniyeh as a respectable man worthy of praise and heartfelt tribute."
UEFJ added it would be "filing a complaint with the National Counter-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office against the Urgence Palestine collective and Member of Parliament Sophia Chikirou for apology for terrorism. The UEJF will request the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of the LFI MP."
COMMUNIQUÉ : l’UEJF dépose plainte contre @chikirouparis et Urgence Palestine pour apologie du terrorisme. Qualifier Ismael Haniyeh, chef du Hamas, de «martyr» et «résistant» c’est glorifier le terrorisme et propager la haineNous sollicitons notre conseil @SachaGhozlan pic.twitter.com/stKuvd8Jnd
— UEJF (@uejf) August 2, 2024
Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, Iran, early Wednesday morning last week.