Diversity is our strength!
“‘I will make you like Samuel Paty’: an individual sentenced to five years in prison for letters threatening and apologizing for terrorism,” translated from ““Je vais vous faire comme Samuel Paty” : un individu condamné à cinq ans de prison pour des lettres de menaces et d’apologie du terrorisme,” Valeurs Actuelles, April 7, 2023 (thanks to Medforth):
On Thursday, April 6, in the defendant’s box, Hassan B. acknowledged the facts. He is the author of about twenty letters, each more sordid in content than the next. Between death threats and apology for terrorism, this man has been raging in the Gard since 2019, reports the daily Midi libre.
“If you don’t stop your bullshit with secularism, I’m going to make you like Samuel Paty. I will behead you and expose your heads at the college entrance.” Chilling words that this Moroccan native used to send to several recipients in the Gard, such as colleges, town halls, or even to the director of the CHU de Nîmes.
In several of his letters, Hassan B. praises terrorism, not hesitating to glorify the names of Kouachi and Daesh, or even by promising to “massacre people like at the Bataclan.” Among its victims, the synagogue of La Grande-Motte and the Jewish worship association of Béziers, or the mayor of this city, Robert Ménard: “I will go to see my friend Ménard and his wife, and I will empty my magazine on them.” This man sent no less than 22 letters between 2019 and 2022.
Defendant pleads insanity
This real madman did not hesitate to plead insanity at first, supported by his lawyer. The 41-year-old explained that he heard “a voice telling me to write all this down, it gives me orders.” Explanations that did not convince the court: “It is not enough to come to court and say ‘I am psychotic.’ The letters are structured, the words well chosen,” explains the representative of the prosecution.Despite not having a criminal record, Hassan B. was sentenced to five years in prison, three of which were probationary, accompanied by an obligation of care and work. He was immediately placed in detention and is prohibited from staying in the Gard. This conviction is the result of persistent investigations, as the accused had been convicted by his DNA, although the perpetrator was careful enough to sign his letters with the names of parents, relatives or simple neighbors.
