A resident of La Baule (Loire-Atlantique) was sentenced Tuesday to a fine of 400 euros and a citizenship course by the Saint-Nazaire criminal court for calling on Facebook last October to
"burn the mosque"
of Béziers (Hérault), noted an AFP journalist.
To read also: A man will appear in January for having called to "burn" the mosque of Béziers
The public prosecutor had requested a fine of 600 euros and the obligation to follow, at his expense, a citizenship course concerning this 50-year-old man.
Convicted of
"provocation not followed by effect to crime or misdemeanor by word, writing, image or means of communication to the public by electronic means"
, he launched this appeal the day after the assassination of Samuel Paty.
The man, unknown to the police and justice, wrote on Facebook on October 17, under his identity:
"Do you want to pay tribute to him ??
Go burn the mosque of Béziers question send the message that there is enough ”.
“He fully recognizes the stupidity of this message,”
explained his lawyer, Me Fabien Bourdon.
The latter had unsuccessfully requested that the hearing be held in camera on the grounds that his client, who was not present in court, feared
"for his safety".
The assassination of Samuel Paty,
"he felt it in the depths of him,"
said Me Bourdon, indicating that this self-employed person, who
"served for several years under the flags",
was today
" in great economic and personal precariousness ”.
In his plea, he asked that the fine requested by the prosecution be reduced to 400 euros and explained that he was not opposed to the citizenship course for his client.
With this internship, which will cost him
"about 250 euros"
, and with the fine, the court intends to
"make him aware of life in society and its rules"
, detailed the president during the deliberation.
A complaint was filed on October 20 by the cultural association of French Muslims of Béziers (ACFMB).
Then the Béziers public prosecutor's office gave up on October 22 in favor of Saint-Nazaire.
“She's a person who has lived in Béziers for a long time and has been living in La Baule for a short time.
The consequences of his words seem to have gone beyond him, he recognized the facts and explained himself very quickly, ”
Michèle Pierson, deputy prosecutor of the Saint-Nazaire court,
told
AFP.