Eight people on trial for anti-Semitic tweets against Miss Provence

“

I felt extremely bad

”.

At the Paris Criminal Court, April Benayoum, 22, Miss Provence and first runner-up of Miss France 2021, testified on Wednesday September 22 in front of eight of his tormentors, tried for anti-Semitic tweets.

Read alsoAntisemitic insults against Miss Provence: justice clashes with Twitter

"

If I am here today, it is quite simply because I do not want these people to go unpunished and hidden behind screens,

" said the young woman in a pink suit jacket and black jeans.

A surge of hatred because of its origins

In December 2020, during the Miss ceremony broadcast on TF1, April Benayoum explained that her taste for geography was perhaps due to her origins.

Her mother is Serbo-Croatian, her father Israeli-Italian, confided the young woman without suspecting that she would immediately trigger a flood of hate messages against her on Twitter.

"

I vote against the Jewess (...) Miss Provence is Israeli this bitch (...) I boycott Israel

", reads the president of the 17th chamber, quoting the incriminated tweets.

To read also "Miss Provence insulted, or the trivialization of anti-Zionist anti-Semitism"

The eight defendants - only seven were present at the hearing - were among the authors of these hateful tweets. At the hearing, they all admitted to having written offensive remarks ... but none acknowledged the anti-Semitic nature of the messages posted. They were tried for “

public insults committed on the grounds of origin, ethnicity, race or religion

”. They risk one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.

"

I tweeted because Israel does not respect fundamental rights (...) I would have done the same for Saudi Arabia or Qatar which are Muslim countries but I did not want to attack a person

”, explains Jasmine B., 23 years old, whose lawyer specifies that she is“ the

daughter of a soldier

”.

"

Do you know what the job of Mademoiselle Benayoum's father is?"

Military.

French military!

", Replied tit for tat the lawyer of Miss Provence, Me Jean Veil.

"

Was your tweet still a call to boycott Israel?"

“Asks Jasmine B. Me Muriel Ouaknine-Melki, lawyer for the European Jewish Organization, one of the multiple civil parties in this trial.

"

That's it yes

", answers the defendant.

Misunderstanding and regrets

Rayanne M., 23, prefers to play with misunderstanding.

"

My tweet (where he called to

'

vote against the Jewess

'

) was a troll, nothing serious, nothing anti-Semitic, it was to amuse the gallery

", he said before expressing his "

big regrets

" .

"

Where's the humor there?"

», Asks the president.

“

These are tweets made to the thousandth degree.

My 4000 subscribers know me, I created this account in 2012 and I have always caricatured racists, homophobes, anti-Semites

”, defends Rayanne.

Read also Miss France 2021: the questions that arise after the anti-Semitic insults suffered by April Benayoum

"

It's zero humor

," tries the young man. “

But I don't understand. Where is the humor there?

», Interrupts the President of the 17th Chamber. The young man has no answer. "

I have nothing against the Israelis and the Jewish religion,

" he said before saying to himself "

disgusted

" that Miss Provence did not win the title of Miss France. On his bench, April Benayoum nods.

Djamila T., 58, posted a photo of Hitler after the words: "

me, when I heard the origins of Miss Provence

".

Without a lawyer, Djamila expresses herself shakingly.

“

Do you know who Hitler was?

», Asks the president.

The defendant, widow and housekeeper with a marked Marseille accent, hesitates before answering "

I know he went to war

".

"

Is that all?"

», Retorts the president.

"

Uh ... he was racist towards the Israelis

", answers the defendant more and more troubled.

"I have trouble sleeping"

At the helm, April Benayoum said "

accept the apologies

".

“

But,” she adds, “it spoiled an exceptional adventure.

It touched those around me.

I have trouble sleeping.

When people talk to me in the street, they only talk to me about that, not about the Miss France adventure

”.

A civil party lawyer turns to the defendants.

"

But what did the Jews do to you?"

".

He gets no response.

The indictment is expected at the end of the evening.