A Look Back at the Trial of Alex, Prosecuted for his Support of Palestine

We hereby share an unofficial translation of an article published by La Cause du Peuple.

On Tuesday, January 13, the trial of revolutionary activist Alex, a member of the Ligue de la Jeunesse Révolutionnaire, took place. He was accused by the state of advocating terrorism simply for making statements in support of Palestinian resistance operations in response to colonization and genocide: nothing more and nothing less than what is recognized by international law and the UN.

Last year, he was arrested on the orders of the judicial police as he disembarked from his plane upon returning from vacation. His home was ransacked during a raid. They found a highly dangerous keffiyeh and Palestine stickers, which will serve as evidence of his “crime” in court. Even though he hadn’t had a trial for a year, Alex was unofficially dismissed from civil service, lost his job, was banned from participating in demonstrations until his trial, and his bank accounts were closed. Because the state’s persecution is politically motivated, he was sent to a summary trial, a legal framework intended for minor offenses, inappropriate for a political trial concerning freedom of expression.

Faced with state persecution, Alex showed exemplary conduct during his trial, reaffirming his support for the Palestinian resistance and his deep political commitment, without flinching, both outside the court and in front of the judges.

His case is not isolated, and on the same day in court, another activist against the Palestinian genocide, Mahdieh Esfandiari, appeared before the judge. She had been released after eight months in prison, without trial or judgment, for running a news channel about the Palestinian resistance. Dozens of activists have been prosecuted in recent months, such as Yamin in Lyon, Elyas in Paris, several youth activists, and many others. These individuals are undeniably on the right side of history.

To support Alex and Mahdieh, nearly 150 people traveled from various cities across France to the courthouse to hold a rally throughout the day until the end of the trial. Other rallies in solidarity with Alex and Mahdieh took place in Marseille and Montpellier, as well as support actions in about fifteen other cities in France.

Support actions were also organized in Lebanon, Palestine, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Finland, Norway, Morocco, Tunisia, and elsewhere. From Lebanon and Egypt, Georges Abdallah and Mariam Abu Daqqa offered their personal and political support. In the same vein, the launch of a “National Coordination Against the Repression of Support for Palestine” is underway, spearheaded by dozens of organizations and activists.

The lawyers, along with Gaza-based writer and neurosurgeon Christophe Oberlin, argued their case by explaining in detail the arbitrary and vague nature of the term “terrorism” as applied to the Palestinian resistance. They elaborated on the inconsistencies of this classification and detailed international law, in which the term “terrorism” does not exist, having been invented for the repression of political opponents. They reiterated France’s unexemplary record, notorious worldwide for its increasingly criminal use of political repression.

Finally, the prosecutor, after denying that this was a political trial or a case of freedom of expression, demanded a follow-up on Alex’s reform of his ideas and positions after his 12-month suspended sentence, to verify that he was indeed conforming to the “interests of the nation”—pure and simple blackmail—making this a condition for removing the conviction from Alex’s criminal record, as he aspires to become a history teacher. A curious conception of democratic rights indeed.

The prosecutor, in a delirious indictment, demanded the following sentence:

– €1000 fine;
– 1 year suspended prison sentence;
– a citizenship course at his own expense;
– a ban on carrying weapons for 5 years;
– a sentence of ineligibility for 5 years;
– socio-judicial monitoring for 2 years.

The court’s verdict will be delivered on February 10th. We conclude with Alex’s clear statement during his trial:

Finally, we remind you of the list of organizations that supported the mobilization in support of Alex this Tuesday:

Ligue de la Jeunesse Révolutionnaire, Jeunes Révolutionnaires, Fédération Syndicale Étudiante, Ligue Anti-Impérialiste, Comité Féminin Populaire, Coordination Nationale des Comités Populaires d’Entraide et de Solidarité, Partizan, Avrupa Göçmen Emekçiler Birligi, Solidaires Étudiants, Union pour la Reconstruction Communiste, Jeunesse Communiste, Comité de Soutien à la Révolution aux Philippines, Peaux Noires Ligne Rouge, Supernova, Cumitatu di Ricustruzzione d’u Partitu Cumunistu, Union Communiste Libertaire, Young Struggle France, Organisation de Solidarité Trans, Decolonial News, À l’Assaut du Ciel, Union des Démocrates Musulmans, Ceini Hnyei, Comité de Défense de la Palestine – Lyon, Comité de Défense de la Palestine – Rennes 2, Secours Rouge Toulouse, Stop Arming Israel Lyon, Mouvement Kanak en France – Lyon, La Fosse aux Lyons, Ka Ubuntu, Yeni Demokratik Gençlik – Strasbourg, Collectif Palestine libre, Collectif Cri d’Océanie, Free West Papua, Comité Jeunes pour le cessez-le-feu en Palestine – La Rochelle, Association France Palestine Solidarité 13, Union Juive Française pour la Paix, Gaza Friendly, OSE CGT, Arles pour la Palestine, Révolutionnaires Autonomes Fièr.es Antifas et Lycéen.nes – Lyon, Comité Palestine Hérouville, Union pour la Palestine – Marseille, Groupe Antifasciste Villefranche 69, Limousin Solidarité Palestine, Cellule de Mobilisation Paris pour la Kanaky, Comité Action Palestine, Comité Palestine Paris Sorbonne, Amiens Antifa, Jeunes Communistes Bouches-du-Rhône, Rennes Décolonial et Populaire, Association France Palestine Solidarité 02, Union Étudiante Lyon, Comité Palestine Inter PSL, Comité Palestine Paris 4, Comite Palestine Unistras, Comité de soutien à la Palestine Nanterre, La Brèche