French-Moroccan Judge Faces New Wave of Racist Abuse After Far-Right Magazine Targets Him
A French judge of Moroccan origin has appeared on the cover of the magazine whose director he had sentenced in June. Accused of bias, Youssef Badr denounces a new wave of racist threats. The case has drawn a response from the Justice Ministry.
His face in black and white, two words in red letters: “Political justice.” Youssef Badr, a judge of Moroccan origin at the Bobigny court, discovers that he is on the cover of Frontières, a far-right magazine. Four months earlier, he had presided over the court that sentenced Erik Tegnér, the director of the same publication. Since then, the judge says he has faced racist insults and death threats. A new wave of hateful messages has prompted the Paris prosecutor’s office to review the case.
On Bladi.net : Parisian Lawyer Sues Over Headscarf Islamism Accusations
The dispute dates back to June 18. That day, the 14th Criminal Chamber of the Bobigny court, presided over by Youssef Badr, sentenced Erik Tegnér to six months in prison, suspended, and a €10,000 fine. The magazine had published information that made it possible to identify and locate lawyers who specialize in defending foreign nationals, exposing them to the risk of violence. The journalist, who denies any wrongdoing, has appealed.
The sentence triggered an initial wave of attacks on social media. The judge received racist messages and threats. The Paris Bar Association expressed its support and noted that the three judges who issued the ruling had reached their decision collectively.
This week, Frontières has renewed its attack. The magazine has devoted a lengthy feature to the judge, revisiting his past social media posts and public appearances. Its director has challenged his impartiality, citing in particular his positions against discrimination and his involvement in community organizations. Erik Tegnér defends the right to investigate a judge who has become a public figure and condemns the racist insults and threats.
Youssef Badr has chosen irony in his response. “Since yesterday, I’ve been desperately searching for the scandal,” he wrote on Thursday, October 15, in a post published on his Mediapart blog. He recounts that a Frontières team even showed up at the Bobigny court to ask him why he had not answered the magazine’s questions.
“You can keep saying I’m a politicized judge”
On the substance, the judge rejects the accusations. He says he has never held a membership card for a political party and is not affiliated with any union. His involvement? The La Courte Échelle association, founded in 2021 to help law students from modest backgrounds continue their studies and enter the judicial professions.
Youssef Badr’s personal story sheds light on this commitment. Born in France in 1981, he is the son of Moroccan immigrants from a village in the Souss region. His father worked in construction, and his mother as a cleaner. Before passing the entrance exam for the National School for the Judiciary, he worked a string of odd jobs to fund his studies, including market work and delivery jobs. He would later become a spokesperson for France’s Justice Ministry.
He says the magazine is now trying to cast this effort to promote equal opportunity as evidence of activism. He says his association has supported thousands of students, regardless of their background or beliefs, and without public subsidies. He also points to the timeline: the attacks against him began after the June conviction.
The case has now taken on an institutional dimension. Jacques Boulard, the first president of the Paris Court of Appeal, has expressed his “deep concern” over attacks he considers unprecedented in their scale and persistence. He says that the freedom to criticize a court ruling must not turn into a personal attack on the judge who issued it.
On Bladi.net : France: Moroccan journalist Nassira El Moaddem threatened with death
On Thursday evening, Gérald Darmanin intervened personally. The Justice Minister said he had called Youssef Badr to express his support. “No judge should be threatened or insulted,” he said.
The Paris prosecutor’s office, for its part, confirmed that it is reviewing Frontières’ latest publication and the comments it has prompted, Le Parisien reports. A criminal investigation opened after the first wave of threats in June is still ongoing.
