2024-08-14 14:52:21
French prosecutors announced on Wednesday that they had launched an investigation into allegations of torture against Algeria’s Olympic boxing champion, Imane Khelif, who was at the venue. the center of the feminist debate at the Paris Olympics.
The charge was dropped ‘against X’ – which is an option within French criminal law for the victim to state their rights and file a complaint even when the identity of the perpetrator is not known.
However, the lawyer representing Khelif, Nabil Boudi, said Various magazine of high-profile foreigners such as the British writer JK Rowling and the owner of Twitter of the US Elon Musk are named in the complaint, adding that the candidate for the presidency of the United States Donald Trump can also be included.
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The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that it had launched the investigation – by the Central Office for the Fight against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes – for “cyber abuse due to gender, public insult due to gender, the incitement of everyone to discrimination and public humiliation because of origin”.
French law considers cyberbullying to be a crime punishable by a fine and up to 10 years in prison.
But do French courts have jurisdiction over foreigners?
While the French authorities naturally investigate and prosecute crimes that occur in France – whether they are committed by French people or foreigners – the courts also have extensive powers to investigate incidents that occur abroad. France.
French criminal procedure is referenced in the French Penal Code (Articles 113-6 to Articles 113-14) and the basic principle, as explained by the French government Public Life websiteis that “French courts have jurisdiction over crimes committed in France and, under certain conditions, crimes committed abroad, even when the perpetrator is French or the victim is French .”
This means that French courts can investigate if, for example, a French citizen is murdered abroad, or if a French citizen commits a crime outside of France.
And not only can they – they always do.
One of the most high profile – and complicated – recent examples is that of the French nun Sophie Toscan du Plantier, who was murdered in Ireland in 1996.
After an ineffective investigation by the Irish authorities, the French courts took the case on the basis that they could have jurisdiction thanks to the victim who was a French citizen.
A British man, living in Ireland, named Ian Bailey, was charged with the murder, and a trial was held in France. Bailey was not present but was convicted in his absence and sentenced to 25 years in prison. However the Irish court refused to extradite him and Bailey died in Ireland earlier this yearstill declared his ignorance.
However, French courts cannot enter if a person has already stood trial and has not been convicted in another country.
France will also prosecute its own citizens for crimes committed abroad where necessary, and has a policy of trying to repatriate French jihadists who have left the country. , and then judge them.
What if no one is French and the crime happened outside of France?
There are also situations where French courts can have jurisdiction over crimes committed abroad by a foreign person and against a foreign victim, which would fall under the concept of “universal” jurisdiction (all cases).
The French Penal Code (Articles 689 to 689-13) outlines the circumstances when France can use universal jurisdiction, and is very rare and restricted and will usually apply to the most serious crimes such as genocide or crimes against humanity – and it is the most important. given to the International Criminal Court.
In the case of genocide and crimes against humanity, the accused would need to be ‘normally resident in France’ to be tried here, while someone accused of genocide would just need to be in France to be tried here, according to Amnesty International.
For example in 2023 French courts began trials on the Rwandan genocide in 1994 against a former Rwandan regional worker who had been living in Le Havre.
In fact France has brought several legal cases on the Rwandan genocide, mostly involving people with dual French-Rwanda nationality.
What about crimes committed online?
This is where we reach the gray area as it is difficult to define ‘where’ the crimes were committed when it comes to online crimes such as cyber-bullying.
In the case of Imane Khelif neither the accused is French (Khelif is Algerian) and there are no superiors mentioned by his lawyer as indicated in the criminal complaint.
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If the case involves a physical assault committed in France – for example a British tourist who is a Swiss tourist – then France will have jurisdiction.
But even though Khelif was in Paris when the alleged online harassment took place, those cited by his lawyer in the criminal case were not.
His lawyer told Variety that the complaint “may target people overseas” and that “the prosecutor’s office for combating online hate speech has the opportunity to make requests for legal assistance with other countries.”
Variety wrote that it specified “our agreements with the US equivalent of the French office for the fight against online hate speech.”
This means that other countries will need to work with the French authorities to investigate potential crimes committed on their soil or by their citizens.
How do penalties work?
If a crime is investigated and the courts find someone guilty, the French courts can request the release of the perpetrator. Once in France, they can be subject to prison time, depending on the crime.
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Extradition may be refused by another country. However, the person convicted will not be able to enter French territory without risking arrest.
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