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| Dieudonne Mbala |
A French comedian charged with condoning terrorism is set to go on
trial over a Facebook comment, in which he is accused of expressing
support for Ahmedy Coulibaly, a gunman who killed four hostages and
policewoman in January.
Dieudonne Mbala told a Paris court on Wednesday that he condemned
last month's deadly Paris attacks "without any ambiguity" as he stood
trial.
"Of course I condemn the attacks without any restraint and without any ambiguity," Dieudonne said.
The controversial comedian angered French authorities after posting a
statement online saying "Je Suis Coulibaly" (I feel like Charlie
Coulibaly), after thousands marched in the French capital with the
slogan "Je suis Charlie" in solidarity with the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
Two gunmen stormed through Charlie Hebdo's office, killing 11 people
on January 7, a day before Coulibaly attacked a Kosher shop killing four
hostages.
Dieudonne was arrested on January 14.
After France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called on
authorities to investigate Dieudonne's remarks, the comedian wrote a
response on his Facebook page saying that he was being treated as a
public enemy when all he wanted to do was make a joke.
Play on words
Dieudonne's "I feel like Charlie Coulibaly" remark was meant to be a
play on words of the popular "I am Charlie Hebdo" slogan used to show
support to the newspaper and freedom of speech in the wake of the
attack.
But now many view his indictment as a violation of freedom of speech itself and an example of the government's double standard.
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Paris, said: "The case has
raised new questions about French values of freedom, equality and
fraternity."
If found guilty of conding terrorism, he could face up to seven years in prison.
Dieudonne, who is already facing a string of separate charges in
Paris, had previously been convicted numerous times for inciting
anti-semitism.
"He is currently involved in several trials here, on charges ranging
from slander, to incitement to racial hatred, to condoning terrorism. In
all the cases, he denies the charges," Al Jazeera's correspondent said.
Source:
Aljazeera
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