Court in France Convicts 11 for Harassing Teenager Over Anti-Islam Rant
The New York Times
The case fueled a fierce debate about free speech and blasphemy in the country.
PARIS — Eleven men and women from around France were found guilty on Wednesday of using the internet to harass a teenager who became the focus of heated debates about free speech and blasphemy after her anti-Islam rant went viral. Thirteen defendants, ages 18 to 29, went on trial in Paris last month on charges of online harassment and, in some cases, issuing death threats. The court found 10 guilty of harassment and one of making death threats and sentenced them to suspended prison sentences of four to six months. A 12th defendant was found not guilty, and the last defendant’s case was thrown out because of a procedural error. The teenager, Mila, 18, has endured insults, death threats and threats of rape — more than 100,000 hateful messages, according to her lawyer — since January 2020, when she angrily responded to social media commenters who were insulting her and calling her an affront to Islam because of her sexual orientation.More Related News