France Link

Suspended jail sentences for 11 in French teen online abuse case

A Paris court on Wednesday handed down suspended prison sentences of between four and six months to 11 out of 13 people who stood trial last month for online harassment and death threats against a teenage girl, known publicly only by her first name, Mila, after she posted an anti-Islam rant on her Instagram account.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

Eleven people have been found guilty of sending abusive messages to a French teenager who posted videos criticising Islam online, reports BBC News.

"We have won and we'll win again," Mila said after the suspended sentences of between four and six months were announced on Wednesday.

Mila was 16 when her first Instagram clip went viral.

She has since received 100,000 hate messages, her lawyer says, and lives under 24-hour police protection.

The young woman, known as Mila, has now turned 18 and was forced to withdraw from school over the abuse.

Her anti-Islam comments came after she was called a "dirty lesbian" by a Muslim blogger after speaking about her sexuality on Instagram.

Her story has revived debate about freedom of speech and blasphemy in the country, as well as protection for schoolchildren from online bullying.

Ten men and three women aged between 18 and 30 from different areas of France went on trial for online harassment at the beginning of June, with some accused of sending death threats to the teenager.

However, the case against one was dropped due to lack of evidence while another was released due to a procedural problem.

The other 11 defendants were given suspended sentences and so will only serve time in prison if they are convicted for other crimes. Some will also have to pay 1,500 euros ($1,773; £1,287) in damages to the teenager, as well as 1,000 euros for her legal fees.

Read more of this report from BBC News.