A 27 -year -old man, a long -standing psychiatric follow -up, was sentenced on Wednesday July 30 to one year in prison by the Lyon Criminal Court for burning a Koran in June before a Mosque in Villeurbanne (Rhône).
On the night of 1is As of June 2, shortly before the first morning prayer, the young man had taken a Koran intended for the faithful of the Errahma mosque, in Villeurbanne, before fire outside the building.
A witness had extinguished the flames and reported the facts the next day to the managers of the premises, who had filed a complaint. The incendiary had been stopped quickly thanks to the exploitation of video surveillance images.
Tried “Degradation committed due to race, ethnicity, nation or religion”the defendant defended himself “To be an Islamophobic”saying “Victim of his illness”a paranoid schizophrenia that he has been dealing with since he was 18 years old. It has even been reinforced for two years. “I understand that my gesture was very serious”he explained. “For me, it was just a book, it was not against the Muslims themselves”he assured.
Already convicted
It’s necessary “Bring an answer to a company that feels injured” After the « transgression » of the accused, including the “Discernment was only altered” At the time of the facts, estimated the prosecutor Hannah Tellier, stressing a “Risk of major reiteration”. She had claimed fifteen months in prison.
“You have already been sentenced three times by a court for acts of threats, violence due to sexual orientation or gender identity”reminded him of the president of the court, reporting his remarks “A little bit of xenophobia”once, before a judge to apply sentences. The penalty is accompanied by a two -year ban on appearing in Villeurbanne.
The Koran fire had been denounced as an act “Islamophobic” By several religious officials, as well as by local elected officials, especially during a support demonstration. “It is a satisfactory sentence for us. We had the feeling of having been fully heard ”reacted to the press Me Sefen Guez Guez, the lawyer for the Errahma association and the Rhône mosques council.
