Ed note–were all dying to know, how’s all that ‘free speech’ workin’ or for ya?
France arrests 54 in hate-speech, anti-Semitism crackdown
Paris —
The Associated Press
Last updated Wednesday, Jan. 14 2015, 12:42 PM EST
A woman walks past an advertising board on which
"Je Suis Charlie!" is written outside a cafe in Brick Lane, east London
January 14, 2015. (LUKE MACGREGOR/REUTERS)
France ordered prosecutors around the country Wednesday to crack down on hate speech, anti-Semitism and glorifying terrorism, announcing that 54 people had been arrested for those offences since the Paris terror attacks.
The order came as Charlie Hebdo’s defiant new issue sold out before dawn around Paris, with scuffles at kiosks over dwindling copies of the satirical newspaper fronting the Prophet Mohammed.
Like many European countries, France has strong laws against hate speech and especially anti-Semitism in the wake of the Holocaust. In a message distributed to all French prosecutors and judges, the Justice Ministry laid out the legal basis for rounding up those who defend the Paris terror attacks as well as those responsible for racist or anti-Semitic words or acts.
Among those detained was Dieudonne, a controversial, popular comic with repeated convictions for racism and anti-Semitism.
The attacks that left 17 people dead are prompting France to tighten security measures but none of the 54 people detained have been linked by authorities to the attacks. That is raising questions about whether the government is impinging on the freedom of speech that Charlie Hebdo so vigorously defends.
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