11 convicted for harassing French teen over anti-Islam videos

Paris: A French court handed down suspended prison sentences of between four to six months to 11 people on Wednesday who were found guilty of harassing a teen online over her anti-Islam videos on social media.

The prosecutions came after the teen, known as Mila, was forced to change schools and accept police protection due to threats to her life.

Since her first videos in 2020, the previously unknown schoolgirl has become a divisive public figure, seen by supporters as a symbol of free speech and the right to blasphemy, and by critics as deliberately provocative and Islamophobic.

The court in Paris tried 13 people from several French regions aged 18 to 30 who were charged with harassing Mila, with some of them sending her death threats.

One of them told her she deserved “to have your throat cut.”

In its judgement on Wednesday, one of the defendants was acquitted for lack of proof, while another was released due to a procedural problem.

The remaining 11 were handed suspended sentences, meaning they will not serve time in jail unless they are convicted for other offences.