Far-right senator Stéphane Ravier released in racial defamation case

2023-07-07 13:21:39
Far-right senator Stéphane Ravier during a press conference in January 2021. THOMAS SAMSON / AFP

Prosecuted for racial defamation after the publication in 2021 ofa tweet where he said that “Immigration kills the youth of France”, Senator Reconquest! Stéphane Ravier was released on Friday July 7. “Defamation aims to punish an attack on the honor of people, but this file does not allow the offense to be characterized because the term “immigration” does not refer to a specific group of people”estimated the Marseille Criminal Court in its judgment.

In a message on Twitter, on July 11, 2021, Stéphane Ravier had posted the photo of a young seller of a telephone shop killed with a knife the day before in Seine-et-Marne, accompanying him with the following message : “Theo, 18, murdered yesterday by a Senegalese in #ClayeSouilly. Immigration kills the youth of France ».

At the hearing, on May 12, the representative of the prosecution had estimated the offense characterized, asking for a fine of 1,000 euros against the former RN senator who passed through the camp of Eric Zemmour during the last presidential election. “The juxtaposition of the Senegalese nationality of the assassin and the term “immigration” is indeed to target a particular community”, “the immigrant community”et “we even indicate a geographical origin”had developed Alain Berthomieu.

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This tweet had been reported to the prosecution by the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (Licra), a civil party to the trial. “We are extremely disappointed with this result, which demonstrates once again that in public debate more and more comments are authorized”commented Friday Serge Tavitian, representative of the Licra, after the announcement of the judgment: “Should we rejoice in the name of freedom of expression? I deplore that the political class hesitates less and less to appeal to the emotions of the French to pit one against the other. »

Absent during the deliberation on Friday, Stéphane Ravier, who defends himself from any racism, had assured that this tweet – which he never withdrew from the social network – was a simple political commentary in reaction to a news item “dramatic”.

The World with AFP