France Arrests 54 in 'Hate Speech' Crackdown
That would all make a much better story, however, if France didn’t use the exact same day to arrest scores of people for “hate speech,” announcing a planned crackdown on unacceptable language.
by Jason Ditz, January 14, 2015
Justice Ministry Orders Arrests of Racists
Paris celebrated free speech today with the return of attacked satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which quickly sold out its millions of copies as people expressed support for the expression of controversial opinions.
That would all make a much better story, however, if France didn’t use the exact same day to arrest scores of people for “hate speech,” announcing a planned crackdown on unacceptable language.
France’s Justice Ministry ordered arrests of “racists” nationwide, and by evening 54 had been detained on various speech-related offenses, including a high profile comedian arrested for “supporting terrorism.”
The timing is outright bizarre, with the “Je suis Charlie” movement celebrating freedom of speech, and the Interior Ministry petitioning the rest of the European Union to work together to “eliminate hate speech” online.
The arrests centered around people saying things, either online or in public, which police found unacceptable. One man, a 20-year-old in Orleans, was arrested for saying “long live the Kalashnikov.”
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