Racist messages on Facebook: "The note could be salty for the identified police"

Insulting comments, racist, sexist or homophobic messages, apology for violence and even a call for murder ... In the aftermath of Streetpress revelations on the exchanges between members of a private Facebook group reserved for the police and called "TN Rabiot Police Officiel", Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has taken legal action.

An investigation for "public insult of a racist nature" and "public provocation to racial hatred" was immediately entrusted to the Brigade for the Suppression of Crime against the Person (BRDP). At this stage, however, "no internal investigation has been opened, the authors have not yet been identified," said a police source. "Because if the presumptions are strong, we still do not know if the insulting comments were made by the police," said the same source. What do the members of this group risk if they are accused of objectionable language? The Parisian takes stock.

Public or private insults?

The nuance is significant. Racist insults - like incitement to racial hatred -, when they are public, fall under the law of 29 July 1881 on the press. These are crimes punishable by one year imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros. Non-public racist insult, on the other hand, is a simple offense, punished by article R.621-2 of the Criminal Code. She was punished with a fine of 1,500 euros.

Are these messages, which were posted on a private (i.e. closed) Facebook group, public or private? "With social networks, the notions of public and private have somehow shattered," immediately warns Anthony Bem, lawyer at the Paris bar specializing in digital and press law.

In its judgment of April 10, 2013, the Court of Cassation established the principle that only messages posted to members of a group "in very limited numbers" are not public in nature. For the group “TN Rabiot Police Officiel”, which had some 8,000 members when the Streetpress article was published on Thursday evening, and which has nearly 600 fewer at the time of writing, “the public nature is obvious, ”says Anthony Bem.

Insults by the police, what does that change?

Not much in the criminal investigation. "From the moment when their words were not kept in the exercise of their mission, these police officers, in front of justice, become again ordinary citizens", assures Me Anthony Bem.

To sum up, their quality as a police officer does not constitute, in this specific case, an aggravating circumstance increasing the sentence incurred. “Nevertheless, a judge could be led to consider that this is an element which prevents any leniency. Because if no one is supposed to ignore the law, police officers or gendarmes must know the law better than anyone, since they are supposed to guarantee it, protect it, make it respected, ”analyzes the lawyer.

On the other hand, on a professional level, the authors expose themselves to disciplinary sanctions: reprimand, warning, suspension or even expulsion. "The police and the military have a duty of reserve," recalls Mr. Anthony Bem. When they express themselves publicly, even outside the framework of their function, they must respect a certain behavior, a certain dignity, a respect for values. "

Is a simple "like" reprehensible?

"Yes," replied Mr. Anthony Bem, bluntly, citing the case of a soldier who received disciplinary sanctions after liking insulting remarks targeting a hierarchical superior on Facebook. “A like is an approval, and it is also a publication: through the like, we relay this feeling to our friends. As a result, we spread this point even more widely, which we validate, as if we were the author. And we are punished as such, ”he warns.

Newsletter - The essentials of the news

I'm registering

Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more

In criminal terms, however, to date, "no likes have been tried as an offense". "But it could become. Internet law is a young matter, "further warns the lawyer.

What about the victims?

As soon as racist, sexist or even homophobic insults openly appear in this Facebook group, associations will be able to constitute civil parties in the name of the interests they defend. The first to appear, the anti-racist association La Maison des Potes has already announced a complaint against X, because "racism is an evil that is eating away at the police more and more".

Other victims, named by name, are likely to come forward too: the singer Camélia Jordana, called a "dirty whore" after having declared that she felt in danger in front of the police, or Assa Traore, Adama's older sister , died in July 2016 in the courtyard of the Persian gendarmerie (Val-d'Oise), described as "pouffe" or "scraping". "All the civil parties will be able to claim damages and obtain thousands of euros", reminds Me Anthony Bem. “The final grade could be salty for the identified authors. "