Benzema Sues French Interior Minister Over Muslim Brotherhood Allegations

Benzema’s lawyer, Me Hugues Vigier, filed this complaint on Tuesday with the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), the only jurisdiction empowered to prosecute members of the government. The 92-page document states that the French footballer is the victim of a "political plot" and that the Minister of the Interior’s statements have affected "Karim’s family and close friends". If the complaint is accepted, Gérard Darmanin risks a fine of 12,000 euros.

Last October, the Minister of the Interior had accused Benzema of having links with the Muslim Brotherhood and of practicing "a hard and rigorous Islam". This, after the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner spoke out about the situation in Gaza. "We pray for the people of Gaza who are once again victims of this unjust bombardment that spares neither women nor children," he had lamented in a post on X.

"Karim Benzema has never had the slightest link with this organization [...] He has chosen to live in Saudi Arabia, a country that has declared this organization terrorist, which France has never done," Karim Benzema’s lawyer had reacted in response to Darmanin’s remarks, reserving the right "to initiate proceedings against this minister, under the law on the manipulation of information or for defamation, or even public insult".