Ismaël Boudjekada, an opposition politician in Grand-Charmont (Doubs), who is on the Union citoyenne de gauche et écologistes (Left Citizens’ Union and Environmentalists) list, was arrested by border police at Basel-Mulhouse international airport at around 10am this morning, Europe 1 reports.
The councillor, who was taken into police custody for glorifying terrorism, will be presented to the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office later today.
Boudjekada, a vehement supporter of the Palestinian movement, had already been sentenced to a fine of 20,000 euros and three years of ineligibility in 2024 for glorifying terrorism after calling Hamas a “resistance movement” two days after the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023.
He had relapsed when, in October 2024, he hailed Yahya Sinouar, the Hamas leader considered to be the architect of the October 7 attacks, as a ‘hero’ shortly after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. These statements led to several manhunt warrants.
That same month, he posted a message on X aimed directly at the Minister of the Interior: “Whether the coward Bruno Retailleau likes it or not, there are many of us […] who do not condemn October 7 and stick by it. So build jails fast, because we risk many of us being fed, housed and pampered at the princess’s expense.”
Doubs : l’élu de gauche Ismaël Boudjekada interpellé pour apologie du terrorisme – Valeurs actuelles