French scholar acquitted of ‘apology for terrorism’ charges after Palestine tweets

Francois Burgat, a renowned French specialist on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and political Islam, was acquitted on Wednesday by the criminal court of Aix-en-Provence, in southeastern France, where he was prosecuted on charges of “apology for terrorism” for messages posted on social media.

The prosecution accused the former research director at the National Centre for Scientific Research and former director of the French Institute for the Near East, now retired, of a series of controversial social media posts concerning Hamas and Israel’s war on Gaza.

During the trial in April, the prosecutor asked for an eight-month suspended prison sentence, a $4,500 fine, a six-month ban from social media and a two-year ineligibility period against Burgat.

Speaking to Middle East Eye, Burgat praised a “wise lucidity from the court”, but expected the prosecution to appeal.

“Let’s hope that this wisdom, which several dozen of my compatriots convicted without any justification in the same type of case have not benefited from, will henceforth become the guiding principle of the French judicial system,” he said.

Read more: French scholar acquitted of ‘apology for terrorism’ charges after Palestine tweets