Cameroonian-French comedian to face trial over face book comment

A court in France will try a controversial comedian on suspicion of “glorifying terrorism” by publishing a comment on his Facebook page. Prosecutors said on Wednesday that Dieudonne M'bala M'bala would face trial over the comment “I’m feeling like Charlie Coulibaly” on his Facebook page. “Charlie Coulibaly” is a combination of the widespread “I am Charlie” vigil slogan and the name of Amedy Coulibaly, a gunman suspected of killing five people in two attacks in the French capital, Paris.

The attacks came two days after two gunmen shot 12 people at the offices of theCharlie Hebdo magazine in the same city on January 7. Dieudonne had been questioned at a police station earlier on Wednesday. Jacques Verdier, Dieudonne’s lawyer, said that his detention over the comment was “completely out of proportion.”

If convicted, the comedian could face up to seven years in prison. Dieudonne, whose father is from Cameroon and whose mother is French-Caucasian, has popularized a gesture called “quenelle,” which authorities have branded as “anti-Semitic.” The comedian argues that his gesture is anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic. The gesture was first used during a campaign in 2009. Since then, it has been reproduced all over the Internet, and particularly among the comedian’s fans.

Presstv