French expert Burgat became the target of a Jewish organization because of his social media posts about Israel’s attacks in Gaza and was summoned to the police station in the city of Aix-en-Provence in southern France to give a statement on charges of “terrorist propaganda.”
Burgat, represented by Rafik Chekkat, the founder of the Islamophobia platform, was detained. The check stated that “it is scandalous that an academic in France is deprived of his freedom due to political statements.” He emphasized that his client gave honest and detailed answers to the accusations.
Burgat is a well-known name on social media and in his academic work on Islamism, Islamophobia, the Arab world and terrorism. Burgat, whose work has also been used by parliamentary and official institutions, has questioned whether “France will continue to teach human rights and freedom of expression” following the detention decision.
The academic’s post on Gaza received widespread attention on social media, while Burgat also criticized the situation in which he faced charges of “terrorist propaganda.” The detention order was issued following a complaint by the Organisation of European Jews (OJE) and was lifted yesterday at around 16:00 local time.
