On the night of May 21-22, he was provoked by the noise of his neighbours and shouted insults at them for over an hour. With two bottles of vodka in his pocket, he recited the encyclopaedia of insults from A to Z, garnished with a few references to Daech. “Protect your families, infidels. I will cut your throats, as I did in Syria. I will drink your blood.” The group of young partygoers across the street, laughing more than worrying, videotape the scene.
The Magistrate is trying to ascertain whether the offence of glorification of terrorism has been committed. According to case law, such an offence only exists if the accused attempts to incite or arrange terrorism. Otherwise, it is a simple threat. ” I don’t know anything about it at all. I don’t even have an Arab background or anything,” the accused claims awkwardly. I’m just a normal Spaniard.” For the prosecution, the remarks made in public may constitute an endorsement. He demands eighteen months in prison, ten of them suspended.
“The qualification trumps the real personality. It’s more pathetic than anything else,” says Camille Fournier-Guinut for the defence. The lawyer recalls that her client, who is undergoing rehabilitation, “has taken a big step forward in terms of criminal law”. “He needs a sentence that will allow him to get away from alcohol. He is not a dangerous lunatic”. The court agrees. The 30-year-old, who was acquitted of glorifying terrorism, will be given a total of six months in prison without parole and three months on probation. He will serve his sentence in semi-freedom*.Sud-Ouest
*Semi-freedom is a form of execution for custodial sentences that allows the sentenced person to pursue a professional activity, attend classes, vocational training or internships, undergo medical treatment or participate in the life of his or her family outside prison, with any other available time necessarily spent inside prison.Wikipedia
