Man Sentenced for Vandalism of Muslim Prayer Rooms in Isère, France

The events had taken place in December 2021. A 48-year-old man without a fixed address had damaged a Muslim prayer room in Domène in the evening of December 27, 2021 and another room in La Mure, the next morning. In a tweet, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin had assured his "support" for the Muslim community, and denounced acts "contrary to the values of the Republic". The gendarmes of the Meylan and La Mure companies had opened an investigation and managed to identify and arrest the suspect on December 29, 2021.

The forty-year-old "made confused statements during his hearings, which did not make it possible to precisely understand his real motivations," the Grenoble public prosecutor, Éric Vaillant, had then indicated, before adding that "the psychiatrist who had examined him nevertheless considered him criminally responsible for his actions." Already known to the justice services for acts of degradation, the defendant had been incarcerated in the Grenoble-Varces prison, after an immediate appearance before the Grenoble Criminal Court on December 31. He had requested a delay to prepare his defense. A new psychiatric evaluation had also been ordered.

Prosecuted for "degradation or deterioration of two buildings dedicated to worship" in recidivism, also for theft - also in recidivism - of the car in which he was sleeping and traveling, he appeared in custody on Wednesday, February 9, 2022 before the Grenoble Criminal Court, reports Le Dauphiné Libéré. "He’s someone who’s a bit lost. He was Catholic before meeting a Muslim woman and converting to Islam. He is questioning his religion, but there is no Islamophobic connotation in his actions," insists his lawyer Fanny Marion.

The court found the middle-aged man’s discernment impaired and handed down its verdict: Xavier G. is sentenced to 10 months in prison, 5 of which are suspended with enhanced probation without sentence adjustment. He was also sentenced to an obligation of care for two years, and to the prohibition of appearing in the mosques of Domène and La Mure.