Man Sentenced for Islamophobic Attack Near Belfort Mosque

Another Islamophobic act. A Belfortain charged his car, on June 13 last, at two women of Muslim faith near the Grand Mosque of the Glacis, reports L’Est Républicain. They had to take refuge in the underground passage, near the Grand Mosque. On Wednesday, the defendant appeared before the Belfort judicial court. At the stand, he denied the facts, claiming to have lost control of his vehicle after an altercation with a man. "I was eating a hamburger near the mosque," he explained. "[...] I indicated that I did not like Islam, because this religion scares me. I am not racist." These statements were accompanied by "offensive and racist remarks against Muslims and their religion."

"After my remarks [...] a man passing by with his wife threatened me. It was his wife who held him back. Then a second man arrived and threatened to hit me in the company of his brothers. Under the effect of fear, I got back in my car. Then I lost control of it," the defendant recounted. However, the broadcast of a surveillance camera recording during the hearing confounded the quadragenarian. In this video, we see him calmly get into his car. There is no image of the altercation.

"My client swerved ten meters from the civil parties," pleads the defense lawyer, Madeline Legrand. "There was no risk that he would hit them. Furthermore, the court is not seized for the context and the racist insults." According to the deputy prosecutor, Caroline Roda, the intention to charge at these two women is beyond doubt. "This kind of incident near a place of worship can generate a feeling of fear," she explains. She requested eighteen months’ imprisonment, including six months with probationary suspension for two years, and the revocation of a one-month suspended sentence handed down on March 10, 2017.

The verdict is in: the Belfortain was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, including six months with probationary suspension for 2 years, and the revocation of a one-month suspended sentence, for acts of violence with the use of a weapon by destination. The court also banned him from appearing near the mosques of Belfort and confiscated his car. The defendant was also the subject of a committal order.