French-Palestinian MEP in custody for 'apology for terrorism' in post on X

French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan was taken into police custody in France on Thursday for an "apology for terrorism" after a post about Palestinian resistance, according to French media outlets.

On 26 March, the 33-year-old left-wing politician shared on X an article about Japanese pro-Palestinian activist Kozo Okamoto, a former member of the Japanese Red Army, who participated in an attack on Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel in 1972 that killed 26 passengers.

She accompanied the retweet with a quote by Okamoto, saying: “I gave my youth to the Palestinian cause. As long as there is oppression, resistance is not only a right, it is a duty.” 

Far-right National Rally MP Matthias Renault filed a complaint with the Paris public prosecutor over the post. 

Hassan later deleted the post but now faces charges of condoning acts of terrorism and potential drug offences, after a few grams of synthetic narcotics of unknown origin were reportedly found in her bag.

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