Marine Le Pen Loses French Parliamentary Immunity Over Tweets
- 7 years ago
Marine Le Pen Loses French Parliamentary Immunity Over Tweets
9, 2017
PARIS — The French Parliament has lifted the immunity of the National Front leader, Marine Le Pen, forcing her to appear in front of judges over graphic photographs of Islamic State executions she posted on Twitter
and giving a new slap to her already-humbled far-right party.
Le Pen has used various parliamentary immunities — first as a member of the European Parliament,
and then as a member of the French Parliament — to resist a summons from the investigating judges.
A lawmaker’s status shouldn’t be "an obstacle to the smooth functioning of justice," François de Rugy, the president of the French Parliament, told the France Info television channel on Thursday, adding
that there is no reason for deputies, as they are known in France, "to be above the law." Ms.
Le Pen, furious over a television interview in which a French journalist compared her party to the Islamic State, also known as
ISIS or ISIL, posted several pictures of the killing of the American journalist James Foley, along with another photograph.
Le Pen denounced the decision on Twitter, saying "You are better off being a jihadist returning from Syria than a deputy denouncing
the crimes of ISIS: It’s less risky from a judicial standpoint." Please verify you’re not a robot by clicking the box.
Le Pen, who lost badly to Emmanuel Macron in a runoff for the French presidency in May,
must now appear before the investigating judges to answer questions about the case.
9, 2017
PARIS — The French Parliament has lifted the immunity of the National Front leader, Marine Le Pen, forcing her to appear in front of judges over graphic photographs of Islamic State executions she posted on Twitter
and giving a new slap to her already-humbled far-right party.
Le Pen has used various parliamentary immunities — first as a member of the European Parliament,
and then as a member of the French Parliament — to resist a summons from the investigating judges.
A lawmaker’s status shouldn’t be "an obstacle to the smooth functioning of justice," François de Rugy, the president of the French Parliament, told the France Info television channel on Thursday, adding
that there is no reason for deputies, as they are known in France, "to be above the law." Ms.
Le Pen, furious over a television interview in which a French journalist compared her party to the Islamic State, also known as
ISIS or ISIL, posted several pictures of the killing of the American journalist James Foley, along with another photograph.
Le Pen denounced the decision on Twitter, saying "You are better off being a jihadist returning from Syria than a deputy denouncing
the crimes of ISIS: It’s less risky from a judicial standpoint." Please verify you’re not a robot by clicking the box.
Le Pen, who lost badly to Emmanuel Macron in a runoff for the French presidency in May,
must now appear before the investigating judges to answer questions about the case.