French MEP detained on suspicion of terrorism

Rima Hassan, an MEP from the left-wing party Unbreakable France, has been arrested and taken into custody in Paris as part of an investigation into allegations of ‘justifying terrorism’. According to Politico, the case centres on a social media post in which she expressed solidarity with the Japanese terrorist Kōzō Okamoto.

Okamoto was convicted over the 1972 attack on Ben Gurion airport that killed 26 people. French authorities opened the investigation following a tip-off from right-wing lawmaker Matthias Renault, who wrote on social media that this marked ‘the beginning of the end of impunity’.

Hassan’s team says her detention amounts to a violation of her parliamentary immunity. The European Parliament has not commented on the substance of the case, but confirmed it is in contact with the relevant authorities and with the MEP.

Hassan is a prominent pro-Palestinian voice in France and has repeatedly drawn controversy over her views on Israel. She has described Hamas’s armed resistance as legitimate under international law, while calling the 7 October 2023 attack morally unacceptable.

(max)