MEP LFI Rima Hassan was placed in police custody this Thursday for “apology of terrorism” after a controversial tweet linked to the author of a 1972 attack. During her arrest, synthetic drugs were found in her personal effects.
An MEP in police custody: Rima Hassan is now being held under duress by law enforcement. The rebellious elected official – suspected of “apology of terrorism” – is currently being questioned by authorities on this Thursday, April 2. Summoned, the affairs of the Franco-Palestinian were searched: synthetic drugs were found in her bag. La Dépêche du Midi details several points on the 33-year-old elected official’s police custody.
Why was Rima Hassan to be heard?
According to our colleagues from Le Parisien, Rima Hassan was placed in police custody as part of an investigation into a tweet that would have referred to one of the authors of an attack on the Tel Aviv airport in 1972, Kōzō Okamoto. This message – posted last March on the web – has since been deleted, according to the newspaper. In this post, the MEP mentioned Okamoto while invoking his dedication to the Palestinian cause and the “duty of resistance.”
However, Kōzō Okamoto is the sole survivor of the Japanese Red Army commando responsible for the massacre at Lod Airport, a terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 26 people. This explicit reference to a figure linked to a deadly attack is at the heart of the “apology of terrorism” procedure currently targeting the LFI elected official.
A judicial investigation for “apology of terrorism”?
At the end of March, National Rally deputy Matthias Renault had indicated that he had reported to the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the message posted by the MEP. A complaint would also have been filed by the European Jewish Observatory.
This is not the first time the parliamentarian has been the subject of legal proceedings for “apology of terrorism.” Since the end of 2023, the pro-Palestinian activist has been under judicial investigation. She is accused of making comments considered as support for Hamas following the October 7 attack. Called to explain, Rima Hassan had been the subject of summons since spring 2024 under the status of “free listener,” meaning she was not being held under duress.
Drugs found in the MEP’s bag?
But this Thursday, April 2, it is under the regime of police custody that the MEP was summoned, “which is astonishing considering she has always attended all her summons,” said a source within La France Insoumise. The leader of La France Insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, denounced “political police,” while Manon Aubry, another MEP from the movement, criticized “judicial harassment.”
While being searched, “a few grams of synthetic drugs” were found in the LFI MEP’s bag during her police custody in Paris, a source close to the case later revealed, confirming information from Le Parisien. According to preliminary investigative elements, tests revealed the presence of “cathinone, a synthetic derivative of khat (a shrub cultivated in East Africa, the leaves of which are chewed), with effects similar to amphetamines,” commented a source to France Info.
The MEP reportedly explained to investigators that she had bought CBD in Brussels (Belgium). The drug itself was given to her without her knowledge. Rima Hassan’s police custody would have been extended to include the acts of “transportation,” “possession,” “use of narcotics,” and “refusal to submit to drug testing.”
