Politician arrested over tweet

Post celebrating French hero cop’s death provokes strong reaction

RENNES ( France): A left-wing French politician has been arrested over a tweet apparently celebrating the death of a policeman who was hailed a hero after he took the place of a hostage and was killed by a gunman.

Police arrested Stephane Poussier at his home in Dives-sur-Mer, northwest France, on Sunday after he sent two tweets welcoming the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame (pic).

“Whenever a policeman is shot... I think of my friend Remi Fraisse,” Poussier said on Twitter, referring to an environmental activist killed by a stun grenade fired by police during a 2014 protest over a dam.

“And this time it was a colonel, great! Additionally, it means one less Macron voter,” he added.

Beltrame was shot and stabbed to death after offering himself in exchange for a woman being used as a human shield by Radouane Lakdim who had already killed three other people in a rampage on Friday.

A national tribute is to be held for Beltrame, who President Emmanuel Macron said had “died a hero”.

Poussier’s remarks provoked strong reactions and his Twitter account was disabled.

“Stephane Poussier is in custody since 11.30 this morning for justifying acts of terrorism after comments published yesterday on his Twitter account,” local prosecutor David Pamart confirmed late Sunday.

He could face up to seven years in prison

 and a fine of 100,000 (RM483,366).

Poussier stood unsuccessfully in elections last year as a candidate for the La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party of radical leftwinger Jean-Luc Melenchon.

His comments were condemned by the party and Melenchon, who said on Twitter that it would file a complaint against him for justifying terrorism.

Meanwhile, a French judicial official says Lakdim’s partner was, like him, known to police as radicalised.

The 18-year-old woman was still being detained yesterday by police for questioning in the case, as well as a 17-year-old friend of Lakdim, the official said.

He was speaking anonymously to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Lakdim was known to police for drug-dealing, and since 2014 had been on the so-called “Fiche S” list, a government register of individuals suspected of being radicalised but who have yet to perform acts of terrorism.