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French Lawmaker Mustapha Laabid Loses Appeal, Faces 3-Year Ban from Office for Misuse of Funds
Friday 6 November 2020, by
The Rennes Court of Appeal has just confirmed the sentence of six months’ suspended imprisonment, a 10,000 euro fine and 3 years of ineligibility for LRM deputy Mustapha Laabid. He had been sentenced to the same penalty at first instance in August 2019.
At 51, the deputy for the 1st constituency of Ille-et-Vilaine would have spent 21,545 euros from the funds of his association active in the integration of young people into the job market for personal purposes.
According to AFP, this former business leader, father of five children, had used the association’s bank card to pay for fast food, phone expenses, supermarket purchases, and hotels in Paris. This situation led to the dissolution of the association, financed solely by public subsidies.
The deputy had been implicated after his election in June 2017 following a report from the Tracfin reporting service. At the time, he had acknowledged his mistakes and a few facts, with the exception of the long list of grievances against him.
During the appeal trial, the former association president denounced a persecution against his person. According to him, he was humiliated for the simple reason that he comes from a different background.
He denounces an "insult to justice" and persecution. "Because I don’t come from the same background, the same caste. Because I don’t frequent these little circles, these little lodges. Because from the first hour they considered me illegitimate in my function as a representative of the nation. They all agreed to try to tear off my deputy’s sash," he had hammered. His lawyer, Julien Delarue, who believes the ineligibility sentence is excessive, has promised to file an appeal.