France’s LePen on trial for “justification of war crimes”

Prosecutors have demanded that Jean-Marie Le Pen should be given a five-month suspended prison sentence and a 10,000 euro fine for saying that the Nazi occupation of France was “not particularly inhumane.” LePen is a French right-wing nationalist politician and the founder and president of the Front National party.

Le Pen has been put on trial for “justification of war crimes” and “contesting crimes against humanity.” LePen has been persecuted in France for several comments made throughout the years. The most famous of which was referring to the Holocaust as a detail of history which resulted in a conviction in 1999.

The most recent charges involve a comment made in a 2005 interview published in the magazine Rivarol. LePen was quoted as follows:

“In France, at least, the German occupation was not particularly inhumane, although there were some blunders, inevitable in a country of 550,000 sq km.”

The interview and comments angered the government, Jewish groups and “anti-racism” organizations.

Even these clearly mild comments have fallen under France's infamous “Gayssot” law which makes Holocaust denial a crime, punishable by fines or imprisonment.

Besides their attack on LePen, the prosecution also requested that the head of Rivarol magazine, Marie-Luce Wacquez, be given a two-month suspended prison sentence and be fined 5,000 euros. Futhermore, they have demanded that the journalist who conducted the interview be fined 3,500 euros.

The Paris court is due to announce its verdict on Feb. 8. If LePen is convicted, the French government has demonstrated its complete failure in the protection of basic human rights including freedom of speech and freedom of the press.