Update from Olivia Zemor.
BDS TRIAL IN BOBIGNY : THE STATE PROSECUTOR DEMANDS A PRISON SENTENCE TO SET AN EXAMPLE !
The many activists (some 200 inside and outside the tribunal -- see the video sur http://www.europalestine.com/spip.php?article6989) who had taken the day off work to come and support the 4 BDS activists Maha, Olivia, Mohammed and Ulrich, at Bobigny magistrates court on March 15, 2012, who are accused of racist discrimination and incitement to hatred and violence, for having participated in or having posted on their website boycott actions against the Israeli occupation, were not to be disappointed!
During this marathon trial which lasted from 10 am to midnight, which was requested by the government and commandeered by the Israeli lobby, we witnessed hours and hours of lies spouted out by the 5 plaintiff lawyers, considering themselves on home ground.
Unable to produce the documents purporting to confirm their assertions, distorting statements and texts, inventing inexistant newspaper articles : what a show ! They remained incapable of demonstrating that French law prohibits the citizen boycott of a State, as argued by our lawyers, Dominique COCHAIN, Antoine COMTE and Gilles DEVERS.
As if that wasn’t enough, the prosecutor went on to explain that the minister for Justice, Michele Alliot Marie, had issued a circular asking him to condemn us “with serenity and independence", but omitted to say that she had announced this decision at the CRIF (Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France) gala evening, (even though she had said earlier in Parliament that our boycott actions in supermarkets did not constitute offenses).
And after telling us how much he respected our cause, our freedom of conscience and our ideas, he asked the court to pronounce exemplary sentences against us, in order to prevent us from continuing to defend that same cause: fines of between 1000 and 2000 euros for Mohamed, Maha and Ulrich ... and a 3 to 4 months suspended prison sentence against Olivia Zémor, explaining that getting rid of the leader, we would have peace at last.
The French government, the only one in the world to demand the punishment of those engaged in non-violent actions to stop the criminal policies of Israel, does it really believe that these dictatorial methods will stop the international boycott movement, while the Israeli occupation continues it’s colonization and atrocities?
While the bombing of Gaza continues and Hana Shalabi is in her 28th day of hunger strike to protest against arbitrary imprisonment, torture and humiliation inflicted on the Palestinians resisting the occupation?
In our humble opinion, the French government is mistaken !
IN THE MEANTIME, RENDEZ-VOUS Friday March 23 AT THE COURT OF PONTOISE (3 rue Victor-Hugo, access by SNCF Pontoise train station) FROM 12am TO SUPPORT 7 BDS ACTIVISTS CHARGED WITH HAVING CALLED FOR THE BOYCOTT ISRAELI PRODUCTS WHILE STAGING A MOCK TRIAL INSIDE THE CARREFOUR SUPERMARKET IN MONTIGNY, a suburb northeast of Paris (95).
All the best,
CAPJPO-EuroPalestine
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