Re: Western standards regarding freedom of speech
http://rt.com/news/222835-france-crackdown-hate-speech/
The arrest of a famous comedian and 54 more people for hate speech and pro-terror comments in the wake of the Charlie Hedbo attacks have sparked a fierce debate in France over whether the authorities are guilty of double standards on freedom of speech.
At the center of the debate is controversial comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, known by his stage name Dieudonne, who was arrested after posting “I feel like Charlie Coulibaly” on Facebook, putting together the name of the attacked satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and the terrorist who is accused of killing four people at a Jewish supermarket in Paris.
“Racism, anti-Semitism, historical revisionism, and condoning terrorism are not opinions, they are crimes,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said, condemning Dieudonne’s remark and vowing a crackdown on “speech that kills.”
The crackdown has 54 people, four minors among them, convicted for hate speech and inciting terror under special measures for immediate sentencing, introduced in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
Inciting terrorism could mean a 5-year prison term in France, while the same offence committed online adds an extra two years to the sentence.
Dieudonne is set to face trial in February. Meanwhile a massive online campaign in his support is gearing up. The main message of those urging an end to his persecution is that it’s double standards to praise Charlie Hebdo’s activity, seen as provocative by many Muslims, and at the same time ban Dieudonne for his remarks.
Tweets condemning French authorities of violating freedom of speech have been accompanied by a #JeSuisDieudonné hashtag.
Maher Arar @ArarMaher](https://twitter.com/ArarMaher)
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So France arrests Dieudonné 4 offending 70M French but praised publication of Hebdo even if offends 1.6B Muslims.
Moysekou™ @Moysekou](https://twitter.com/Moysekou)
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" Freedom of speech in France seems to only be a right for those who want to speak out against Islam. #JeSuisDieudonne](https://twitter.com/hashtag/JeSuisDieudonne?src=hash)" @enrihannaaa](https://twitter.com/enrihannaaa)
A Facebook page in support of the controversial comedian features more than 900,000 “Likes.”
The comedian has already faced a number of charges of racism and anti-Semitism. He has defended his comments, using pretty similar free speech arguments to those used by Charlie Hebdo cartoonists.
“You are looking for a pretext to forbid me,” he wrote in an open letter to French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. “You consider me like Amedy Coulibaly, when I am not any different from Charlie."