Today, Tuesday March 26, the court in Grenoble sentenced the deputy Mohamed Makni from Echiroll to four months’ suspended imprisonment for glorifying terrorist offences. The judges did not impose the fine and one year’s ineligibility that had been demanded at the hearing on the 20th of February. Mohamed Makni was on trial because he had shared messages on social networks without distancing himself from them, which spoke of “acts of resistance” in connection with an attack by Hamas on civilians in Israel on the 7th of October 2023. His lawyer Elsa Marcel pleaded for acquittal, citing “freedom of expression” and “a legitimate public debate”.
She added that “a suspended sentence is an extremely severe punishment for sharing a post on social media”. “Of course I am innocent and we will see this through to the end,” said Mohamed Makni. Even though he is ineligible and his conviction will not appear in certificate no. 2 of his criminal record, which can be requested for everyday occurrences, the politician immediately decided to appeal. Politically, Mohamed Makni was removed from his position as deputy mayor of Échirolles immediately after the incidents and expelled from the Socialist Party.
“He is a first offender […] and therefore this is the usual case law,” said Eric Hattab, lawyer for CRIF Grenoble. The Council of Jewish Institutions, together with the OJE, a European Jewish organisation, had acted as joint plaintiffs. Mr Makni will be sentenced, found guilty, and that is the most important thing,” stated the lawyer, “it is the message that our country’s justice system is sending out: No, Hamas is not a resistance movement, no, the deeds carried out by Hamas are not acts of resistance, and from this point of view we are satisfied.” Until the next appeal hearing.