Illustration: The facade of the Great Mosque of Paris, May 24, 2020. -

STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP

Comments made the day after the assassination of Samuel Paty.

An inhabitant of La Baule will appear in correctional court in January for calling on Facebook to “burn down the mosque” of Béziers, the Saint-Nazaire prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.

The man, 50 years old and unknown to the police and justice, posted the call in a conversation on Facebook on October 17, under his identity.

"Do you want to pay tribute to him ??

Go burn the Béziers mosque in order to get the message across, ”he wrote.

He was taken into custody on October 23.

He faces five years in prison

“He is a person who has lived in Béziers for a long time and has recently been living in La Baule.

The consequences of his words seem to have exceeded him, he recognized the facts and explained himself very quickly, ”said the deputy prosecutor of the judicial court of Saint-Nazaire, Michèle Pierson.

He will appear on January 5 before the Criminal Court of Saint-Nazaire for the offense of "public provocation to the commission of an offense of degradation dangerous for people", a fact provided for and repressed by the law of July 29, 1881 on the freedom of the press.

"The penalty incurred is five years' imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros," the prosecution said in a statement.

A complaint was filed last week by the cultural association of French Muslims in Béziers (ACFMB).

The Béziers public prosecutor's office gave up on October 22 in favor of Saint-Nazaire.

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  • Islam

  • Mosque

  • Languedoc-Roussillon

  • Conflans attack

  • Saint Nazaire

  • Beziers

  • Justice