Legal regulation of the crime of glorifying terrorism through social media (France as a model)
Keywords:
(Cyber terrorism, glorification of terrorism, apology for terrorism, public provocation, condoning terrorism, freedom of expression, indirect incitement to terrorism).Abstract
Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of any free and democratic society and is considered a basic human right. However, some people, under the guise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, glorify terrorist acts. The crime of glorifying terrorism is linked to the vague category of hate speech, as it constitutes an attack on social cohesion by contributing to the appreciation or encouragement of terrorism and may encourage future moves to commit terrorist crimes. Many European countries have criminalized the glorification of terrorism in their laws. Perhaps the most prominent of these countries and the first to criminalize this type of terrorism is France, which is considered one of the countries that imposed restrictions on freedom of expression and considered that comments that aim to present or comment positively on terrorist acts in general or specific terrorist acts that have already been committed are a crime punishable by law under the French Penal Code in force. This type of expression of opinion is called the crime of glorifying terrorism (justification of terrorism or promotion of terrorism or the crime of indirect incitement to terrorism).
References
Sources and References
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(1) Surah Al-Buruj, Verse 15.
(2) Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 40.
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(1) Al-Saleh, Saleh; Al-Ahmad, Amina Al-Sheikh, (year of publication), Al-Mu'jam Al-Safi Fi Al-Lugha Al-Arabiyya, no edition, no place mentioned.
(2) The Arabic Language Academy (Abdul-Ati, Sha'ban; Hussein, Ahmed; Hilmi, Jamal), (2004), Al-Mu'jam Al-Wasit, Fourth Edition, Al-Shorouk International Library.
Second Arab Legislation:
First/ Constitutions:
- The current Iraqi Constitution of 2005.
Second/ Laws:
(1) Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, as amended.
(2) Code of Criminal Procedure No. 23 of 1971, as amended.
(3) Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005, as amended.
(4) The Supreme National Commission for Accountability and Justice Law No. 10 of 2008, in force.
(5) The Law Banning the Ba'ath Party and Racist, Terrorist, and Takfiri Entities, Parties, and Activities No. 32 of 2016, in force.
(6) The Algerian Law No. 20-05 of 2022 on Preventing and Combating Discrimination and Hate Speech.
Third: Iraqi Judicial Decisions:
(1) Federal Court of Cassation Decision No. 10221/Criminal Body/2021/T/7067 (unpublished).
(2) Rusafa Criminal Court Decision No. 2227/C2015/1 dated September 1, 2015 (unpublished).
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(2) marc , Jean, (2018) , Commentaire Décision n° 2018-706 QPC du 18 mai2018 (Délit d'apologie d'actes de terrorisme) .
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(2) Proceedings on NATO Advanced Training Course on the Legal Aspects of Combating Terrorism Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina Legal Aspects of Combating Terrorism , Legal Aspects of Combating Terrorism ,( 2008) , Volume47 , 10S Press.
Eighth/ Foreign Legislation:
First/ International agreements, decisions, recommendations, and decrees:
(1) Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.
(2) European Convention on Human Rights entered into force 3 September 1950.
(3) Bulgarian Criminal Code No. 26/02.04 of 1968)Average(.
(4) Parliamentary Assembly Resolution No. 1308 of 2002 on restrictions on political parties in the Council of Europe .
(5) Resolution 1344/2003 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the threat posed by extremist parties and movements to democracy in the European Union.
(6)Recommandation n° 1344 de l'Assemblée parlementaire du Conseil de l'Europe de 2003 sur la menace que représentent les partis et mouvements extrémistes pour la démocratie dans l'Union européenne
(7) United Nations Security Council Resolution 1624 of 2005.
(8) Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism of 16 May 2005.
(9) Décret n° 125 du 5 février 2015 relatif au blocage des sites provoquant à des actes de terrorisme ou en faisant l'apologie et des sites diffusant des images et représentations de mineurs à caractère pornographique
(10) EU Decision No. 784/2021 on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content on the Internet
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(2) Loi française sur la presse n° 29 de 1881( modifiée ).
(3) Code pénal n° 683 du 22 juillet 1992 modifié
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(7) UK Terrorism Act 30 March 2006.
(8) Criminal Liability for Public Incitement, Recruitment and Training in Relation to Terrorist and Other Particularly Serious Offences Act No. 299 of 2010 .
Ninth/ French decisions:
(1( Cour de cassation, chambre criminelle, séance publique du 14 janvier 1971, pourvoi n° 70-90.558.
(2) Cour de cassation - Chambre criminelle 7 novembre 2023 / Appel n° 22-87.230
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Tenth/ Electronic websites on the Internet:
(1) Dictionnaire Le Petit Robot , Glorification/ Terrorisme, Dictionnaire publié sur Internet, Disponible sur le lien électronique suivant :- https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/terrorisme , Date de visite : 2025/1/16.
(2) Lidia Vicente , report about LEGAL STANDARDS ON GLORIFICATION (Case law analysis of the offence of glorification of terrorism in Spain) , The report is published on the organization’s official website and is available at the following electronic link:
)3) EUROPEAN COMMISSION , Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online For the year 2018 , Available at the following link:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52018PC0640 , Date de visite : 2025/1/23.
Service-Public.frLe site officiel de l’administration française , Mesures nécessaires pour supprimer le contenu électronique contenant des expressions glorifiant l'apologie du terrorisme – provocation publique, Disponible sur le lien électronique suivant :-
https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F32512 , Date de visite : 2025/1/29.
(5) GUIDE« VOS DROITS ET DÉMARCHES »POUR LES PARTICULIERS , Apologie du terrorisme - Provocation au terrorisme (Demande de retrait d’un contenu illicite sur internet ) , Disponible sur le site suivant :-
https://www.saint-martin-du-mont.fr/Particuliers/F32512/ , Date de visite : 2025/1/29.
(6) Ministère français de l'Intérieur , Le portail de signalement des contenus illicites de l’internet (Pharos) , Disponible sur le lien électronique suivant :-
https://www.masecurite.interieur.gouv.fr/fr/demarches-en-ligne/portail-officiel-signalement-contenus-illicites-internet-pharos , Date de visite : 2025/1/29.
