Driss Yemmou, said Idriss Sihamedi, was found guilty of public insult against the former journalist and secular activist Zineb El Razhoui on Wednesday by the 17th correctional chamber of the Paris court.
While the Paris prosecutor's office had requested a 3-month suspended prison sentence, and a 10,000 euros fine, the judges sentenced the defendant to a fine of 3,000 euros, as well as the payment of 1,500 euros for damages to the former Charlie Hebdo journalist and secularist activist, as well as legal costs.
The founder of the Barakacity association dissolved last October for its links with radical Islam, was tried for insults uttered between September 14 and 16 on social networks.
In a tweet, the activist had described the complainant as an “
Arab on duty
” and “a
dog stroked by his masters
”.
"
I hope she will be constipated until silence
" he added.
Idriss Sihamedi's lawyer announces he will appeal
With the
Figaro
, Me Elhamamouchi who represented this Wednesday Idriss Sihamedi notes that the sentence imposed is "
not severe
" compared to the requisitions of the prosecution, reflecting the fragility of the accusations.
“
My client does not get any jail time.
But we will appeal, because there was no public insult for us,
”he adds.
To read also: Zineb El Rhazoui: "Wherever the gaze rests in the public space, we see manifestations of the Islamization of society
"
Another case still pits his client against Zineb El Razhoui, this time for cyberstalking.
Idriss Sihamedi organized between September 23 and 29 a smear campaign against the former journalist on social networks, including the use of the hashtag #BalanceZinebElRhazoui.
This one had been taken up by thousands of twitter users, in insulting or even threatening messages: an Internet user had even revealed the personal address of the journalist, who has been living under police protection since the attacks of January 2015. Ten months of suspended prison sentence had been requested, but the defendant was acquitted of the charges against him on January 15, the criminal court having considered that the living conditions of the victim had not deteriorated.
Zineb El Razhoui has been living under police protection since 2015.
The prosecution appealed against the decision.
Finally, Idriss Sihamedi is concerned by another cyberstalking case, this time concerning the columnist of the Grandes Gueules Zohra Bitan.
Again, the activist had launched a hashtag #BalanceZohraBitan.
Among the 133 or so tweets he published, the founder of BarakaCity accused him of "
pouring out his hatred on Muslim women
".
The deliberation is scheduled for March 12 in Évry.
Read also: BarakaCity, this "humanitarian" NGO close to Salafist circles
On October 28, twelve days after the assassination of Samuel Paty by a young radicalized Islamist, the government dissolved the BarakaCity association of Idriss Sihamedi, accusing the structure of "
inciting hatred
", of links with "
the Islamist movement. radical
", and" to
justify terrorist acts
".
