France hands anti-genocide activist 3-year jail term for 'glorifying terrorism'

An anti-genocide activist in France has been sentenced to three years in prison for “glorifying terrorism” on social media, broadcaster France 3 reported on Tuesday.

Amira Zaiter, from the southern city of Nice, was placed into custody on 19 September for the glorification of terrorism, glorification of crimes against humanity and hate speech on social media, the channel said.

The founder of De Nice a Gaza organisation (From Nice to Gaza) was sentenced to three years in jail, with two years suspended and one year under an electronic bracelet.

Zaiter organised the first pro-Palestinian protests in Nice in October 2023, when Israel launched its offensive on Gaza.

Last month, the Paris prosecutor’s office requested an eight-month suspended prison sentence for another anti-genocide activist, Elias d’Imzalene, who was charged with “public provocation to hatred or violence” following remarks he made during a rally in Paris, where he mentioned the word “intifada”. Intifada means uprising in Arabic and is used to refer to the Palestinian mass movements against Israeli occupation.

He was taken into custody on 24 September for calling for an uprising during a demonstration on 8 September.

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