Around fifty Renaissance MPs have reported to the courts the presence of Rima Hassan at a recent demonstration, which they said was “pro-Hamas”, seeing it as a form of “apology for terrorism”, which the LFI MEP strongly contests.
Rima Hassan, a member of the MEP group for La France Insoumise and an activist for the Palestinian cause, is in the sights of Renaissance MPs. They are demanding that her parliamentary immunity be lifted.
In total, 51 deputies from the presidential camp took up their pens. A letter sent to the President of the European Parliament. They denounce the participation of Rima Hassan, a Franco-Palestinian MEP, in an anti-Semitic demonstration “pro-Hamas” according to them, in Jordan, last Friday, August 16.
In this letter, revealed by our colleagues at Le Point magazine, they inform Roberta Metsola that they have filed a report with the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office for condoning terrorism and inciting racial hatred. According to them, the rebellious elected official displays “barely concealed support for the terrorist organization,” which carried out the October 7 massacres.
Now that Rima Hassan is a Member of the European Parliament, she is protected by parliamentary immunity, should she ever be subject to legal proceedings. This is why some members of parliament want this immunity to be lifted. They are also calling for sanctions to be taken against her.
Explain to us by Nicolas Poincaré: Rima Hassan’s trip to Jordan causes controversy – 08/23
What exactly are they accusing him of?
They accuse her of having attended a demonstration in Amman, the Jordanian capital, on August 16. In this pro-Palestinian gathering, dozens of placards were brandished in tribute to Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader killed at the end of July in Iran, in a strike attributed to Israel.
Signs, but also slogans chanted in support of the terrorist group and openly anti-Jewish. Facts, there too, revealed by the weekly Le Point, which relied on videos shared by Rima Hassan on social networks. But also by the activist Taha Bouhafs, very close to LFI. He accompanied the MEP to Jordan at that time.
What does Rima Hassan answer?
“Fake news.” That’s what she wrote on her X profile. She talks about “media harassment.” Rima Hassan was indeed present at this demonstration, but it was in no way, she says, a tribute to Hamas leaders.
“I am not responsible for who participates.”
Rima Hassan insists on the context: the demonstration in which she participated has been held every Friday since October, in support of the people of Gaza. It should be remembered that Jordan is the country in the region that hosts the most Palestinian refugees: 2.4 million according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Rima Hassan is not intimidated by this report
She continues to fight on social media, and is currently recounting her travels to Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. She believes that those who accuse her are “known for their position of support for a genocidal regime” and she says that she will continue to fight them, “with or without a mandate as an MEP”.
Rima Hassan now sits in the European Parliament with the Insoumis
She was one of the campaign figures. She was 7th on the LFI list in the European elections. She had almost managed to overshadow the head of the list, Manon Aubry. Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the rebellious leaders had clearly made Gaza the heart of their campaign. The Franco-Palestinian lawyer was then at all the meetings, her keffiyeh on her back, having become one of the rebellious faces of the pro-Palestinian mobilization.
Rima Hassan has already been prosecuted
Summoned at the end of April for apology for terrorism by the judicial police. She had answered “true” in an interview, to the statement: “Hamas is waging a legitimate war”. She was not yet a candidate at the time and denounces a misleading montage.
In July, LR MEP François-Xavier Bellamy filed a complaint against her for threats. She had spoken of him and his friends as “close to the Israeli genocidal regime”.
“For the moment, they sleep well at night. It won’t last,” she said. The Renaissance MPs who are speaking out today are referring to these controversial statements. They believe that Rima Hassan is participating “without any limits in spreading hatred of Jews in Europe… by denying the State of Israel the right to exist.”
