French far-right leader Marine Le Pen charged over Daesh photos

Marine Le Pen has been charged for tweets showing executions by Daesh extremists, including the killing of American reporter James Foley. If the case reaches trial and she’s convicted, Le Pen could face three years in prison. (Reuters)
Updated 01 March 2018
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French far-right leader Marine Le Pen charged over Daesh photos

PARIS: French prosecutors have filed preliminary charges against far-right leader Marine Le Pen for tweeting brutal images of Daesh violence.
The prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Nanterre said the charges were issued Thursday for “distribution of violent images.” If the case reaches trial and she’s convicted, Le Pen could face three years in prison and €75,000 ($90,000) in fines.
Le Pen’s December 2015 tweets showed executions by Daesh extremists, including the killing of American reporter James Foley.
Le Pen didn’t comment publicly on the charges, made possible after the French parliament lifted her immunity from prosecution in the case. Lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut, representing Le Pen, wouldn’t comment.
It’s the latest blow to Le Pen, whose party is in crisis after she lost her presidential bid last year.


Hundreds of migrants land in Greece after search operation at sea

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Hundreds of migrants land in Greece after search operation at sea

ATHENS: Greece’s Coast Guard rescued about 545 migrants from a fishing boat off Europe’s southernmost island of ​Gavdos on Friday, one of the biggest groups to reach the country in recent months.
The migrants were found during a Greek search operation some 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) off Gavdos, a Coast Guard statement said. ‌They are all ‌well and are ‌being ⁠taken ​to ‌the port of Agia Galini on the nearby island of Crete, it added.
Greece was on the front line of a 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people from the ⁠Middle East and Africa landed on its shores ‌before moving on to ‍other European countries, mainly ‍Germany.
Flows have ebbed since then, ‍but both Crete and Gavdos — the two Mediterranean islands nearest to the African coast — have seen a steep rise in migrant ​boats, mainly from Libya, reaching their shores over the past year and ⁠deadly accidents remain common along that route.
Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy will be eligible for help in dealing with migratory pressures under a new EU mechanism when the bloc’s pact on migration and asylum enters into force in mid-2026.
The center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said deportation of rejected ‌asylum seekers will be a priority.