The courts have convicted Islamic scholar François Burgat for several tweets about Hamas.

Islamic scholar François Burgat has been convicted on appeal for "apology for terrorism" by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal. The former research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) was fined €5,000 and given an additional three-year ban from holding public office for several posts published on the social network X in January 2024.

This decision marks a legal reversal, as the Islamic scholar had been acquitted in the first instance a year earlier. The court accused him, in particular, of having shared a Hamas statement contesting a New York Times article about sexual violence committed during the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel. In another publication, François Burgat stated that he had "infinitely more respect and consideration" for the leaders of Hamas than for those of the Israeli state.

A partial conviction confirmed

The appeals court, however, upheld his acquittal regarding another message posted in December 2024 about the assassination of Samuel Paty. This tweet commented on the convictions of two people accused of participating in an online hate campaign preceding the teacher's murder.

François Burgat will also have to pay damages to several associations, including LICRA, the European Jewish Organization, and Lawyers Without Borders. His lawyer denounced a shift in how his client is perceived, arguing that "it is not his message that has changed, but the way society sees him."