Overview
- The Marseille appeals court sentenced Smaïn Bendjilali, known as Imam Ismaïl, to three months in prison suspended for apology of terrorism.
- The ruling cut the original six‑month suspended term imposed in May 2025 and removed the planned listing in the terrorism offenders file (FIJAIT).
- The court ordered him to pay €2,000 to the anti‑racism group LICRA and confirmed his acquittal for a second online post.
- The case stems from his July 2024 repost on X of a video framing Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack as “legitimate defense” to an audience of more than 11,000 followers.
- Separately, the mosquée des Bleuets remains in a legal dispute after a prefectural closure order was temporarily suspended by the administrative court.