Delit d’apologie du terrorisme (Apology of terrorism offense) is a criminal offense in France that prohibits the public condoning or glorification of terrorism. It was introduced in the French Penal Code in 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks.
The offense is defined as “any public speech, writing, image or other object that, directly or indirectly, encourages, provokes or approves terrorism or the commission of terrorist acts.” It is punishable by up to 7 years in prison and a fine of €100,000.
The offense has been used to prosecute a wide range of individuals, including journalists, activists and politicians. In 2004, for example, the French journalist Florence Aubenas was convicted of apology of terrorism for writing an article about a Palestinian suicide bomber. In 2015, the French comedian Dieudonné was convicted of the same offense for making jokes about the Holocaust.
The offense has been criticized by some as being too broad and vague. Critics argue that it could be used to criminalize legitimate criticism of the government or the security forces. Others argue that the offense is necessary to protect national security and to prevent the spread of terrorist propaganda.
The offense is currently being reviewed by the French government. In 2017, the French Minister of Justice, Nicole Belloubet, announced that she would be proposing a new law that would narrow the definition of the offense and make it more difficult to prosecute individuals for expressing their opinions.
The offense is a controversial one, and there is no easy answer to the question of how to balance the need to protect national security with the right to freedom of expression. The French government is currently trying to find a way to do just that.
The AI has provided us with the news.
I’ve asked Google Gemini the following question, and here’s its response.
Please search for “delit apologie du terrorisme” which is rapidly rising on Google Trends FR and explain in detail. Answers should be in English.
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