“Hitler forgot to exterminate you”: French courts give defendants convicted of antisemitic harassment suspended sentences

The French courts have given eight defendants who have been convicted of antisemitic harassment a two-month suspended prison sentence.

April Benayoum, who won the title of Miss Provence 2020 and was the runner-up in the Miss France 2021 contest, received antisemitic abuse online after it was revealed that her father was Israeli, including one tweet which read: “Hitler forgot to exterminate you, Miss Provence.”

It was reported that on Wednesday at Paris Criminal Court, most of the defendants appeared to show remorse for their actions. Ahmet I., one of the defendants, reportedly said: “I am ashamed to be here, to be seen as an antisemite or a racist. I apologise to Ms. Benayoum for having made remarks like that.” Another defendant, Rayanne M., allegedly said that he was “ashamed that people have this image of me as an antisemite.”

Mr Benayoum said that she accepted their apologies, but added that “Forgiving will be more difficult, this is something that hurt me a lot and spoiled an exceptional adventure.”

Mr Benayoum reportedly received an outpouring of support, including from the French Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, who said that he was “deeply shocked by the shower of antisemitic insults against Miss Provence”, adding: “Shame on their authors.”

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Image credit: The Algemeiner Journal via Twitter