{"id":52767,"date":"2015-01-26T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=52767"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:26:11","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:26:11","slug":"france-begins-jailing-people-for-ironic-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2015\/01\/france-begins-jailing-people-for-ironic-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"France Begins Jailing People for Ironic Comments"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mock<\/a>

Mock Charlie Hebdo cover circulated after the murder of the magazine\u2019s cartoonists. The text says \u201cCharlie Hebdo is shit. It doesn\u2019t stop bullets.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

It may sound like an ironic joke, but it isn\u2019t. Less than a week after the massive rallies in defense of \u201cfree expression,\u201d following the murders of the Charlie Hebdo<\/em> cartoonists, French authorities have jailed a youth for irony.<\/p>\n

The arrest is part of a harsh crackdown on free speech in the country that has prompted criticism from national and international human rights organizations.<\/p>\n

A 16-year-old high school student was taken into police custody on Thursday [15 Jan 2015] and indicted for \u201cdefending terrorism,\u201d national broadcaster France 3 reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His alleged crime? He posted on Facebook a cartoon \u201crepresenting a person holding the magazine Charlie Hebdo<\/em>, being hit by bullets, and accompanied by an \u2018ironic\u2019 comment,\u201d France 3 states.<\/p>\n

The teen lives at home with his parents, has no prior judicial record and, according to prosecutor Yvon Ollivier quoted by French media<\/a>, he does not have a \u201cprofile suggesting an evolution toward jihadism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy told prosecutors that he posted the cartoon because he thought it was \u201cfunny.\u201d<\/p>\n

The media reports do not include the drawing \u2013 presumably that could put journalists afoul of the law. So we do not know for sure what the youth is accused of sharing.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

An actual Charlie Hebdo from July 2013 caused outrage for mocking Egyptian protestors killed after the military coup. The text says \u201cThe Quran is shit. It doesn\u2019t stop bullets.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

But the cartoon at the top of this page fits the description precisely. It was widely shared on social media, and published on 7 January<\/a> on the website of the controversial French comedian Dieudonn\u00e9<\/a>. It is a mock Charlie Hebdo<\/em> cover by the cartoonist Dedko.<\/p>\n

The text says \u201cCharlie Hebdo<\/em> is shit. It does not stop bullets.\u201d It appears quite heartless and cruel, but look at the copy of Charlie Hebdo<\/em> that the person in the cartoon is holding.<\/p>\n

It represents a real Charlie Hebdo<\/em> cover that was published in July 2013, days after the military coup in Egypt. It caused outrage at the time because of its cruelty and insensitivity.<\/p>\n

It shows an Egyptian protestor being shot through a copy of the Quran he is holding. The text says, \u201cThe Quran is shit, it doesn\u2019t stop bullets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assuming that the mock Charlie Hebdo<\/em> cover is the one shared by the youth on Facebook, this incident sums up the sheer hypocrisy of France\u2019s current national mood.<\/p>\n

Anything mocking and denigrating Islam and Muslims is venerated as courageous free speech, while anything mocking those who engage in such denigration \u2013 even using precisely the same techniques \u2013 can get you locked up.<\/p>\n

Wave of arrests<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA string of at least 69 arrests in France this week on the vague charge of \u2018defending terrorism\u2019 (\u2018l\u2019apologie du terrorisme<\/em>\u2019) risks violating freedom of expression,\u201d Amnesty International said in an understated press release<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the arrests appear to be on the basis of statements made in the aftermath of the deadly attacks against the magazine Charlie Hebdo<\/em>, a kosher supermarket and security forces in Paris on 7 and 9 January,\u201d the human rights group added.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the recently reported cases in France may cross the high threshold of expression that can legitimately be prosecuted,\u201d Amnesty said. \u201cOthers, however offensive the statements made, do not.\u201d<\/p>\n

As previously reported<\/a>, the most high profile arrest was of Dieudonn\u00e9 himself \u2013 also apparently for an ironic comment.<\/p>\n

Many of the arrests are simply absurd, and it is impossible to imagine what purpose they could serve other than to allow the French government to look tough amid an increasingly right-wing and xenophobic political atmosphere, and to satisfy a desire in some sections of the public and media for scapegoats.<\/p>\n

They include:<\/p>\n