The leader of France’s far-right Front National (FN), Marine Le Pen, on Wednesday denied that she had defended the use of torture when commenting on the US’s report on its use by the CIA. But one of her key supporters later said it could be a brave choice in some circumstances, repprts RFI.
Marine Le Pen on Wednesday tweeted that it was “malicious” to interpret her reply to a TV interviewer earlier in the day were a defence of using torture.
Asked on BFMTV to comment on the damning report on the CIA’s use of torture that hit world headlines on Tuesday, Le Pen answered, "I don't personally disapprove."
"On these subjects it is pretty easy to come into a television studio and say 'Ouh la la, that is bad!'," she said.
People who “deal with terrorists” are “responsible people", she went on, but the US needs to find out if there has been abuse.
“Allow me to say this,” the FN leader added. “There can be cases, for example when a bomb is ticking – tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock - and will explode in an hour or two and could cause 200 or 300 civilian victims when it is useful to get someone to talk."
Asked whether torture could be used to do so she said, "With the means at your disposal."
As her comments hit social media and news websites, Le Pen tweeted that she was the victim of a “malicious interpretation”, insisting that she meant “legal means, obviously not torture”.