the leader of the CGT du Nord sentenced to one year in prison for “apology of terrorism”

The departmental secretary of the CGT du Nord, Jean-Paul Delescaut, was sentenced Thursday April 18 to a one-year suspended prison sentence for “apology of terrorism” after a leaflet distributed after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, reports France Bleu Nord.

This sentence corresponds to what was requested by the prosecutor during the hearing at the end of March. The Lille criminal court sentenced the union leader to a one-year suspended prison sentence as well as to pay 5,000 euros in moral damages to the civil parties, including the Organization of European Jews. On the other hand, he was acquitted on charges of “public incitement to hatred or violence”.

As responsible for publishing the CGT 59 website, Jean-Paul Delescaut, 57, was prosecuted after the distribution of a leaflet dating from October 10, three days after the Hamas attack on Israel. One sentence was particularly questioned: “The horrors of the illegal occupation have accumulated. Since Saturday (October 7, editor’s note) they have been receiving the responses they provoked.” Removed from the website, this leaflet was replaced by a corrected “confederal” version three days later.

During the hearing on March 28, the union leader explained that he condemned terrorist acts in general, including those of October 7. He was welcomed before the Lille court by hundreds of activists.