Mila case in France: several accused of cyberbullying appear for “death threats”
Mila, at the Paris court on April 11, 2022. AFP - THOMAS COEX
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Having become one of the symbols of the fight for freedom of expression and the right to blasphemy in France, Mila, 18 today, has been the victim of online hatred since the publication in 2020 of a video where she was addicted to Islam and lives under police protection.
Since Monday, six people aged 19 to 39 have been tried before the Paris court for online harassment and death threats.
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Blonde hair pulled back in a short ponytail, piercings and tattoos showing, wearing a prairie green dress, Mila is the only splash of color amid the black dresses of the lawyers and the black blouse and sweater also of the only two accused to have traveled to court.
Out of six, four people accused of online harassment and death threats against him for
tweets
written in November 2020 did not make the trip.
But two are there, an 18-year-old student and the 38-year-old mother of two twins.
Even if they work to minimize their actions, “
these words they meant nothing.
We do not realize that there is someone behind, a victim
"and that they have a hard time recognizing their individual responsibility in a harassment which has involved thousands of people, remains their words"
let her die
" for one, “
must smoke it
” for the other.
The scope of words
These are perhaps not the most violent words, when others wished him the same fate as
Samuel Paty
, the teacher who had his throat cut that same year 2020. But these are some of the words that have forever upset the life of Mila, forced to change schools and live under police protection since she was 16.
Richard Malka, Mila's lawyer, says she received "
more than 100,000 hate messages and death threats
" following the publication of her video online.
Mila is in tears when she talks about her life today: “
I fight so that my detractors cannot take it away from me.
And she remains rebellious despite everything: “
I don't want to submit to people who are in court because they wanted to silence me.
»
The verdict is expected this Tuesday in Paris.
Last
July
, during a first trial, eleven people had already been sentenced to terms ranging from 4 to 6 months in prison, suspended.
►
To read: Mila case in France: the trial of the virality of social networks and their debates
(
with
AFP
)
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