Marine Le Pen facing jail after posting images of Isil atrocities
MARINE Le Pen, the French far-right leader, has been charged over posting graphic images of atrocities by Isil jihadists on Twitter, including a photograph of the decapitated body of an American reporter.
The indictment comes after the National Assembly voted in November to strip the National Front (FN) president of her parliamentary immunity from prosecution for tweeting three photographs showing killings by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
The images, tweeted in December 2015 with the caption “This is Daesh [the Arabic acronym for Isil],” included a picture of James Foley, 40, the journalist who was beheaded, a man on fire in a cage, and a tank driving over another victim.
At the time, Mr Foley’s parents accused Ms Le Pen of using their son’s “shamefully uncensored” image for political gain. Ms Le Pen later deleted the photograph, claiming she did not know it was Mr Foley.
She has been placed under formal investigation – a stage in the French legal process equivalent to being charged in Britain – for “distributing violent images”, which is an offence in France. If the case goes to trial and she is convicted, Ms Le Pen, 49, faces three years in prison and a £66,000 fine.
In January, Gilbert Collard, another French MP allied with the Ms Le Pen’s National Front (FN), was charged with the same offence.
There was no immediate reaction from Ms Le Pen, who was an MEP but not a French MP when she posted the images. The European parliament lifted her immunity a year ago at the request of French legal authorities. She was elected to the French parliament last June.
The judge’s decision came just over a week before the FN’S annual conference at which Ms Le Pen is expected to present a new name for the party in an effort to distance it from racist and xenophobic associations. The change is part of her plan to rebuild the FN after being trounced by Emmanuel Macron in last year’s elections.
The investigation is unlikely to affect her popularity among core supporters. However, she appears increasingly isolated within the party. Many FN voters would prefer her niece, Marion Maréchal-le Pen, 28, as leader.
Others remain loyal to her estranged father, the party’s 89-year-old founder, Jean-marie Le Pen, who has spoken out against her leadership and opposes the proposed name change.