Specifically, the 30-year-old, who converted to Islam and is a practising Muslim, is accused, according to his own statements at the hearing, of having spread offensive comments based on one’s sexual orientation. It was the prefecture of the Gard department that had reported the facts to the prosecutor via the security and surveillance services.
In discussions on social networks, the accused states, among other things: ” Islamic jurisprudence agrees that homosexuality should be punished with the death penalty!” And he names the methods to be used: “Stoning, throwing from an elevated point or death by fire,” reads the president of the criminal court of Nîmes, Jérôme Reynes, at the hearing and summarises the procedure.
A Twitter account that was immediately investigated by the state authorities. On Thursday, before the criminal court in the Gard department, the accused spoke of a “bad joke, I wanted to respond to comments on social networks with irony,” defended the real estate agent from the Gard department who lives in a commune on the outskirts of Nîmes.
“In cases like this, irony is always evoked afterwards, especially when you’re on trial….. But for me, it’s a defence designed to reduce his responsibility, because at the time of the tweet, the intention was different,” says deputy prosecutor Arnaud Massip, who is demanding 5 months suspended jail time and one year of ineligibility.
“It is an insidious, free means of communication, and on the internet, people type away on the keyboard in the evening and feel safe from anything that could be punishable,” pleads lawyer Jean-Philippe Galtier for the accused. “This is the open door for anything and everything and, within this framework, also for completely inappropriate statements. But here you have to look for criminal culpability and there is no call for hatred on his part towards a community in this case. He is merely passing on statements he has read or found on the internet,” said lawyer Galtier, who called for an acquittal and pointed to the jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation, which was in favour of his client. The court decided to adjourn its decision in a fortnight.
ObjectifGard / https://www.fdesouche.com/2023/03/17/nimes-un-pere-de-famille-converti-a-lislam-poursuivi-pour-homophobie-apres-avoir-affirme-que-la-jurisprudence-de-sa-religion-condamne-a-mort-lhomosexualite/