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WORLD NEWS Friday 3 March 2017

EU Parliament lifts Le Pen immunity over gruesome tweets

SAMUEL PETREQUIN her tweets, saying she just
Associated Press wanted to condemn the
PARIS (AP) — The European barbaric practices of IS,
Parliament voted Thursday also known as Daesh.
to lift the immunity from “I’m a lawmaker. I’m in
prosecution for French far- my role when I condemn
right leader Marine Le Pen Daesh, this is my role,” she
for tweeting gruesome im- told French TV station LCP.
ages of Islamic State vio- “And if I don’t fulfill my role,
lence, a crime that carries I’m worth nothing as a law-
up to three years in prison maker. Nobody can pre-
in France. vent a republic’s represen-
The legislature voted by a tative from condemning
broad majority in Brussels to Daesh’s acts of violence.”
clear the way for the pos- Her campaign manag-
sible prosecution of Le Pen er, David Rachline, de-
over tweets she made in nounced the lawmakers’
December 2015 showing actions.
executions, including the The EU parliament deci-
killing of American report- sion “marks the difference
er James Foley by Islamic between those who de-
State extremists. nounce and fight Islamist
French prosecutors in the fundamentalism and those French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, center, arrives at a political meeting in Paris, France, Thurs-
city of Nanterre had asked who want to hide the day, March 2, 2017. The European Parliament voted Thursday to lift the immunity from prosecution
lawmakers to lift the immu- atrocities,” Rachline said. for Le Pen for tweeting gruesome images of Islamic State violence, a crime that carries up to three
nity that Le Pen enjoys as a The lifting of Le Pen’s im- years in prison in France.
member of the European munity does not relate to (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Parliament. another corruption case while working on her par- through a breach of trust. rocked by corruption alle-
Le Pen, a leading candi- centered on her aide at ty’s behalf. Le Pen’s chief The campaign to replace gations targeting another
date in this year’s French the European Parliament, of staff, Catherine Griset, France’s unpopular So- top contender, conserva-
presidential election, post- who is suspected of be- was handed a preliminary cialist President Francois tive candidate Francois
ed her tweets in response ing paid from EU money charge of receiving money Hollande has also been Fillon.q
to a journalist who drew an
analogy between her anti- Germany arrests 2 Syrian extremist suspects
immigration National Front
party and IS extremists. She K. GRIESHABER he carried out “so-called weren’t published due to pressed governments to
was trying to show the dif- F. JORDANS Shariah death sentences.” German privacy rules, were bring people suspected
ference between the two Associated Press A spokeswoman for the arrested Wednesday and of war crimes and crimes
groups but the effort back- BERLIN (AP) — German au- prosecutors’ office, Frauke Thursday in the western cit- against humanity in Syria
fired, drawing widespread thorities have arrested two Koehler, declined to con- ies of Duesseldorf and Gies- to trial, as part of an effort
condemnation. Syrians suspected of being firm German media reports sen and their apartments to resolve the long-running
Le Pen took down the members of the extremist that the man came to Ger- were raided. They were conflict.
tweet showing the killing of Nusra Front, one of whom many as an asylum-seeker. due to appear before a The European Center for
Foley after his family pro- allegedly was involved in The other suspect, 26-year- judge Thursday. Constitutional and Hu-
tested, but left up another the slaying of dozens of ci- old Abdulrahman A.A., be- Prosecutors said the men man Rights, or ECCHR, said
image of violence by Is- vilians. longed to the same com- belong to a Nusra Front unit Thursday it has helped sub-
lamic State extremists. The federal prosecutor’s bat unit as Abdalfatah H.A. which also included Abd mit the first criminal com-
Under French law, publish- office said Thursday that and both participated in Arahman A. K., a Syrian in plaint in Germany against
ing violent images can be 35-year-old Abdalfatah an armed battle against his early 30s who was arrest- six high-level Syrian military
punished by up to three H.A. is suspected of war Syrian government troops, ed in Germany in June on intelligence officials, in the
years in jail and a fine of crimes over the killing of including taking over a big suspicion of being part of hope that federal prosecu-
75,000 euros ($78,800). 36 Syrian government em- arms depot near Mahin in a plot to carry out a bomb tors will take up the case
Before the vote, Le Pen ployees by his unit in March November 2013. attack in Duesseldorf. under the principle of uni-
on Thursday defended 2013. The statement says The men, whose surnames Human rights groups have versal jurisdiction. q