Thirteen people will go on trial over online abuse against a French teenager who posted videos critical of Islam.
Ten
men and three women aged between 18 and 30 are due to appear in court
in Paris on Thursday, with eight accused of making death threats.
Mila has received 100,000 hate messages after an Instagram video in which she criticised Islam went viral, her lawyer says.
She posted another video on TikTok in November.
Mila,
who was 16 when she posted her first video and has now turned 18, is
identified only by her first name in France. Her story has revived
debate about freedom of speech, as well as protection for schoolchildren
from online bullying.
A
schoolteacher was murdered last October close to his school near Paris,
days after showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to a class
discussing freedom of expression
Ahead of the trial the teenager posted a message asking for support: "Together let's refuse to live in fear."
Her lawyer said his client had been forced into hiding following the online abuse, much of it sexist or homophobic.
"What
is chilling and frightening about this case is that they are not
delinquents or fanatics," Mr Malka said of the defendants. "They
absolutely all have clean criminal records."
Mr
Malka said many had expressed surprise that they could be prosecuted
"for a single tweet", even if they had used a fake name online or a VPN
(virtual private network) to mask their internet address.
In October, a 23-year-old was sentenced to three years over online death threats against Mila.
The
teenager was forced to change schools after her initial video was
shared online. According to French newspaper La Dépêche, Mila was then
withdrawn from the military school she moved to in November, over
concerns for her safety after she posted the second clip on TikTok. She
has since been learning online.
After
Mila's original remarks, in which she described Islam as a "religion of
hate", two opposing hashtags sprang up: #JeSuisMila (I am Mila) and
#JeNeSuisPasMila.
President Emmanuel Macron spoke out in support of the teenager, arguing that in France "we have the right to blaspheme".
Later this month Mila is due to publish a book about her experiences, entitled "I Am the Price of Your Freedom".
