French prosecutor seeks prison sentence for activists chanting ‘intifada’ at Gaza protest

Police officers stand on guard during the demonstration. Hundreds of people demonstrated in Marseille to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and peace in Lebanon, on 29 September 2024 [Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images]

The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Paris has called for an eight-month suspended sentence for French citizen Elias d’Imzalene, who used the word “intifada” during a demonstration in support of Gaza, sources have told Anadolu.

Activist Elias d’Imzalene appeared before a Paris judge on charges of “inciting public hatred or violence” due to his use of the term during a protest against the massacres in Gaza. Intifada means uprising in Arabic and is used to refer to the Palestinian mass movements against Israeli occupation.

The former French Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, filed a criminal complaint with the Paris prosecutor’s office on 10 September, following d’Imzalene’s speech during the 8 September demonstration in support of Gaza, in which he used the term “Intifada.”

As part of the investigation, d’Imzalene was arrested on 24 September when he went to give his testimony in Paris. After 48 hours in custody, he was released and placed under judicial supervision.

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