France / Court of Cassation/ECLI:FR:CCASS:2018:CR01309

Country

France

Title

France / Court of Cassation/ECLI:FR:CCASS:2018:CR01309

View full Case

Year

2018

Decision/ruling/judgment date

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Incident(s) concerned/related

Incitement to violence or hatred

Related Bias motivation

Religion
Race/Ethnicity

Groups affected

Muslims

Court/Body type

National Court

Court/Body

Court of Cassation

Key facts of the case

Mr. Y. was summoned to appear before the criminal court on the charge of provocation of racial discrimination against the Muslim community. This was following statements published on a website, which he is the director of publication for, under the title, "What if Islam were the cult of sexual and moral perversion?". The judges of first instance convicted him on this count. The Court of Appeal upheld their decision.

Main reasoning/argumentation

To establish the offence of incitement to racial discrimination against the Muslim community, the judgment states that this offence is not contrary to the right to freedom of expression as recognised by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which sets limits at the end of its second paragraph and that it is not adequate to qualify the disputed statements as 'lampoonist' to assure impunity; that the judges note that the incriminating text constitutes a generalised stigmatisation of Muslims, and not just a few, and can not only be considered as criticism of the Muslim religion, since it attributes to Muslims various deviances leading them to perverse practices and criminal behaviour, contrary to human dignity, and likely to provoke violent rejection towards them and to encourage the most heinous reactions against them.

Is the case related to the application of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, the Racial Equality Directive?

Key issues (concepts, interpretations) clarified by the case

The widespread stigmatisation of Muslims cannot be considered only as criticism of the Muslim religion and constitutes the offence of incitement to racial discrimination.

Results (sanctions, outcome) and key consequences or implications of the case

The Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the Court of Appeal. Mr Y was ordered to pay costs to the civil party.

Key quotation in original language and its unofficial translation into English with reference details

"Attendu que, pour dire établi le délit de provocation à la discrimination raciale à l'égard de la communauté musulmane, l'arrêt énonce que cette incrimination n'est pas contraire au droit à la liberté d'expression reconnu par l'article 10 de la Convention européenne des droits de l'homme qui prévoit des limites au terme de son second paragraphe et qu'il ne suffit pas de qualifier de "pamphlétaires" les propos litigieux pour s'assurer l'impunité ; que les juges relèvent que le texte incriminé constitue une stigmatisation généralisée des musulmans, et non de certains d'entre eux, et ne peut être analysé comme la seule critique de la religion musulmane, dès lors qu'il impute aux musulmans diverses déviances les conduisant à des pratiques perverses et des comportements criminels, contraires à la dignité humaine, de nature à provoquer à leur égard un rejet violent et à favoriser à leur encontre les réactions les plus haineuses".

"To establish the offence of incitement to racial discrimination against the Muslim community, the judgment states that this offence is not contrary to the right to freedom of expression as recognised by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which sets limits at the end of its second paragraph and that it is not adequate to qualify the disputed statements as 'lampoonist' to assure impunity; that the judges note that the incriminating text constitutes a generalised stigmatisation of Muslims, and not just a few, and can not only be considered as criticism of the Muslim religion, since it attributes to Muslims various deviances leading them to perverse practices and criminal behaviour, contrary to human dignity, and likely to provoke violent rejection towards them and to encourage the most heinous reactions against them."

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