French left-wing extremists sentenced to long prison term
Combat experience, firearms training and the manufacture of explosive devices - all to take action against French police officers. Paris judges convict seven defendants from the extreme left-wing terrorism scene. However, the defendants are not alleged to have planned anything concrete.
Seven defendants from the extreme left-wing scene have been sentenced in France for planning attacks against security forces and forming a terrorist organization. The 39-year-old main defendant, Florian D., was sentenced in Paris as the leader of the group to five years in prison, half of which was suspended. Five other men and one woman received shorter prison sentences.
The judges considered it proven that the defendants planned violent actions against police officers or soldiers. The sentencing was temporarily interrupted after protests broke out in the courtroom. "Down with the police state", shouted someone in the audience. Florian D. was a "key figure", the judge emphasized. He had repeatedly shown the "will to attack police officers, obtain weapons (...) and organize a militia".
Combat experience and training with softairs
The main defendant had returned from Syria in 2018, where he fought with a Kurdish militia against the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS). He was monitored by the French domestic intelligence service for several months until he was arrested together with other suspects in December 2020. Weapons and material for manufacturing explosive devices were found during searches.
The public prosecutor's office accused the group of practising the use of firearms and building explosive devices. However, they also emphasized that there had been no indications of an imminent crime. The defendants confessed to handling explosives, but explained that they had merely "played a few rounds of airsoft", a cross-country game in which teams compete against each other with soft air weapons. This was a pastime during the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown.
This is the first time since 1995 that French supporters of the ultra-left have been put on trial for terrorism. Back then, seven members of the Action Direct group were sentenced to long prison terms for several attacks. In 2008, the public prosecutor's office investigated supporters of the ultra-left on suspicion of terrorism. They were accused of planning to sabotage TGV lines. However, the suspects went unpunished.
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Source: www.ntv.de
