In an op-ed published this Wednesday, April 23, more than 1,000 prominent figures called for the acquittal of Révolution Permanente (RP) leader Anasse Kazib and another RP activist. The two are accused of “condoning terrorism,” and their trial will take place on June 18. To coincide with the publication of this text, a special press conference was held this Thursday in Paris, bringing together Rima Hassan, Frédéric Lordon, Elsa Marcel, Assa Traoré, Kazib, and the Sud Rail Paris Nord union. The event provided an opportunity to revisit the ongoing criminalization of support for Palestine and the urgent need to fight back.

Elsa Marcel, one of Kazib’s lawyers, first discussed the offense of condoning terrorism, which served as the basis for the prosecution of supporters of Palestine. Integrated into the penal code in 2014, the law effectively punishes political opinion, to the point that France was condemned in June 2022 by the European Court of Human Rights for enforcing it. Marcel also reviewed the defense choices for this unprecedented trial, including the spokesperson for a national political organization: four witnesses will be called, and dozens of written statements will be produced. The lawyers also plan to refer the matter to the Defender of Rights and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. “We want this to serve more broadly to denounce criminalization,” she concluded.

Rima Hassan, a Palestinian member of the European Pariament and activist, denounced the scale of the genocide underway since October 7 and the absolute necessity in this context to condemn it. Referring to the struggle of the Palestinian people, she said “we can debate, question the means of struggle, criticize them, but what is serious right now is this massive repression,” noting the secrecy surrounding the number of trials previously or currently underway for “apology for terrorism.” She also emphasized how these proceedings aim to silence any criticism of the policies of the State of Israel. Taking the example of her own recent summons, which led to a hearing lasting 11.5 hours in total, she highlighted the extent of this censorship: “during my summons, I was questioned for two hours about what I meant by using the word ‘uprising.'”

Along the same lines, philosopher Frédéric Lordon denounced the mechanisms that legitimized this repression, including wrongly considering that the history of Palestine began on October 7, 2023, and rejecting the very idea of ​​explaining why the violence that took place on that day. “In a legal and judicialized system of thought, the historical meaning of an event is closed off, saturated, the truth of the event is immediately and officially stated, and any objector is exposed to prosecution.” Lordon also decried the irony of the French media’s “astonishment” at Trump’s authoritarian offensives and their refusal to see parallels in France, and concluded by inviting us “to see in this trial a very serious opportunity to de-astonish ourselves.”

For their part, activists from the Nord SUD Paris Rail union were present to reaffirm their full support for their colleague, Kazib. Faced with the scale of the repression against working people, like the conviction of Jean-Paul Delescaut or the dismissal of Timothée Esprit, the union members denounced what they called the “leap that the Anasse trial represents in the level of repression observed until now and the seriousness of this attack on freedom of expression.” 

Anti-racist activist Assa Traoré came to support the fight for truth and justice for her brother Adama who died in police custody in France in 2016. She described the repression that she herself suffered because of her political positions, and emphasized the importance of mobilizing for Kazib’s acquittal in a context where the repressive arsenal of the French state is being used against working-class neighborhoods. The comrade concluded with a Malian proverb: “if you go into the hole, we will go into the hole with you.”

Anasse Kazib began by welcoming these strong expressions of solidarity and thanking his supporters at length. The railway worker then provided more details on the political scope of his trial, placing it within the context of an international crackdown. He outlined the details of a 400-page investigation file, comparable in scope to those targeting terrorists. It follows a complaint supported by nearly 50 lawyers, including figures close to the Far Right, targeting dozens of left-wing figures, including Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Olivier Besancenot, Danièle Obono, and 12 UJFP activists. Effectively a petition in favor of criminalizing supporters of Gaza, the complaint sided with the police and the justice system, which chose to prosecute the two RP activists.

At the podium, Kazib underscored the seriousness of the repressive investigation, which went so far as to demand information from insurance companies, social security, and the CAF (family allowance fund), mentions the names of his children, and notes numerous political positions, particularly on police violence. “This is not an investigation into the glorification of terrorism, this is an investigation into a political opponent,” the railway worker said. Emphasizing the press’s responsibility to denounce this brutal attack on democratic rights, the RP spokesperson also clarified, “The second RP activist targeted is a journalist from the international section of our newspaper. He was summoned for an article on Palestine. When we talk about freedom of the press, as journalists, we must be outraged by this.”

Rima Hassan echoed these remarks, emphasizing how few journalists had offered her a microphone in recent months during the multiple controversies initiated by the government, the Right, and the Far Right. Hassan invited the media to look into the secret associations behind the prosecutions against supporters of Gaza. Anasse Kazib finally concluded by explaining: “when they attack one of us, it’s to silence the majority.” In response to the message the government is trying to send, he insisted on the need to build a “resistance bloc” to be acquitted and, more broadly, put an end to the movement of repression of support for Palestine: “we want to make this trial one of the criminalization of support for Palestine.” One thing is certain: in the face of the large-scale offensive against Kazib and other supporters of Palestine, this press conference was a first step in this direction.

Faced with the scale of the offensive, the entire movement for Palestine, the labor movement, and politicians of the Left must stand together in support of Anasse Kazib and all those targeted for their support of Palestine.