Activists gathered outside the Paris courtrooms on Thursday to support Olivia Zamora, a veteran and ardent Palestinian rights and statehood campaigner who has been charged with apology for terrorism.
Under French law, the charge targets anyone who is deemed to have made positive comments on what is considered a terrorist attack.
It's Israel and the government that should be in my place, and we know that it's another gift that the government is offering to Israel with the repression of all activists, and they try to silence us.
Olivia Zemor, Founder, Euro-Palestine NGO
Since 2023, some 350 people have been charged in France over what has been described as condoning terrorism.
The charges against Olivia Zemor relate to an article published on the internet in October 2023 that reacted to fighting near the Gaza Strip, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, and operations in the West Bank.
They want to intimidate me. It's because, it's already 24 years I've been active for Palestine, but they hope that other people would think, 'Oh, I don't want to be in her place and have a trial and all these problems'.
Olivia Zemor
French BDS activist on trial
Court appearances are nothing new for Olivia Zemor.
I've been to court at least 12 or 15 times in my life, and of course, I'm not scared.
It's something usual. It's always the same thing. You know who wants even more repression if you criticize Israel and so on.
So it's not the end, and we're prepared to face it.
Olivia Zemor
Various organizations, unions and NGOs, have criticized what they described as an escalation in the suppression of pro-Palestinian solidarity.
They argue these prosecutions highlight a political climate and double standards in the Gaza conflict, with NGOs claiming Western governments silently tolerated Benjamin Netanyahu's mass murder of Palestinian civilians.
And while Olivia Zemor is unlikely to face more than a fine and a suspended sentence, legal experts and civil liberties advocates say such cases have intensified debate in France over freedom of expression and the limits of political speech.
Israel
Press TV’s website
