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French comedian Dieudonne arrested for condoning terrorism in Facebook post
Date January 15, 2015 - 12:56AM
Marianne Barriaux
Comedian Dieudonne could face up to seven years in jail for his Facebook post. Photo: AFP
Paris: Notorious French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala has been arrested for condoning terrorism after suggesting he sympathised with one of the Paris attacks gunmen, in a move that sparked a debate about free speech.
Prosecutors opened the case against the comedian after he posted on his Facebook page: "Tonight, as far as I'm concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly" - mixing the popular slogan "Je suis Charlie" used in homage to the slain Charlie Hebdo magazine journalists with a reference to Islamist gunman Amedy Coulibaly.
Coulibaly killed four Jews at a supermarket on Friday and a policewoman the day before.
Dieudonne's arrest is one of 54 cases that have been opened in France for "condoning terrorism" or "making threats to carry out terrorist acts" since last week's Islamist shootings left 17 people dead.
Dieudonne made his controversial Facebook post after attending Sunday's unity march against extremism that brought more than 1.5 million people onto the streets of Paris after the attacks.
He described the march - considered the biggest rally in modern French history - as "a magical moment comparable to the big-bang".
His lawyer David de Stefano said his arrest was "shocking".
"We are in the land of freedom of expression? This morning, the government provided the demonstration of that," he said sarcastically.
If found guilty, Dieudonne could face up to seven years in jail and a 5000 euro ($A7242) fine.
Dieudonne is a controversial figure who has made headlines in the past, most notably with his trademark "quenelle" hand gesture that looks like an inverted Nazi salute, but that he insists is merely anti-establishment.
Branded a "pedlar of hate" by the government, Dieudonne has also attracted controversy over sketches widely viewed as anti-Semitic that have occasionally prompted local authorities to ban his shows.
Nevertheless, the polemicist's arrest over his Facebook post has sparked huge debate over where freedom of expression starts and ends, particularly after France has for days vaunted the importance of free speech following killings that took aim at journalists among others.
AFP, Reuters
