LILLE, France: A top French university said Wednesday it canceled the enrolment of a woman student from Gaza because of her social media posts that the country’s interior ministry called “hateful.”
Authorities did not release the content of the messages but screenshots shown on social media indicated the young woman had reposted messages calling for the death of Jewish people.
Israel is seeking to crush the Islamist militant movement Hamas through a devastating offensive in Gaza after the group launched deadly attacks on Israel in 2023.
The woman had been offered a place at the Sciences Po Lille university following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem, the establishment said.
Sciences Po Lille said that after consultations with the education ministry and regional authorities it “has decided to cancel this student’s planned registration at our establishment.”
Some of the posts “come into direct contradiction with the values upheld by Sciences Po Lille, which fights against all forms of racism, antisemitism and discrimination, as well as against any type of incitement to hatred, against any population whatsoever,” the university added in a post on X.
Accounts in the woman’s name have been closed.
Following the recommendation by French diplomats, the woman initially lived at the home of the university’s director while she waited for permanent lodgings, Sciences Po said.
French ministers have demanded an investigation into the case.
“A Gazan student making antisemitic remarks has no place in France,” said Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who added that he had ordered an internal inquiry.
“The screening carried out by the relevant departments of the ministries concerned clearly did not work,” he added in a post on X.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he had demanded the closure of the “hateful” account and ordered local authorities to take legal action.
“Hamas propagandists have no place in our country,” Retailleau said on X.
French university rejects Gaza student over ‘hateful’ online posts
https://arab.news/rrjtc
French university rejects Gaza student over ‘hateful’ online posts
- The woman had been offered a place at the Sciences Po Lille university following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem
Brazil court rejects new Bolsonaro appeal against coup conviction
- The far-right firebrand, in office from 2019 to 2022, was found guilty of having led a scheme to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after Bolsonaro’s failed re-election bid
BRASILIA: A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Friday rejected a fresh appeal by jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro against his coup conviction, declaring it inadmissible, according to a court document seen by AFP.
Bolsonaro, 70, began serving a 27-year sentence in November after the country’s highest court declared he had exhausted all appeals.
Nevertheless, his attorneys filed an appeal on the merits of the case three days after he was jailed.
Bolsonaro’s earlier failed legal effort targeted “ambiguities, omissions, and contradictions” in the trial.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the trial against Bolsonaro, said he did not recognize the fresh appeal, which requires two judges to have voted against a conviction.
Only one of five judges on the Supreme Court panel voted not to convict Bolsonaro.
The far-right firebrand, in office from 2019 to 2022, was found guilty of having led a scheme to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after Bolsonaro’s failed re-election bid.
He has maintained his innocence, declaring he was a victim of political persecution.
The conservative-controlled Congress this week passed a law that could reduce Bolsonaro’s sentence to just over two years.
Lula has vowed to veto the law, however Congress has the last word and can override him.
On Friday, in response to a request from Bolsonaro’s lawyers, the Supreme Court authorized his transfer to a hospital in Brasilia for surgery to treat recurring hiccups and an inguinal hernia.
Earlier Friday, police said in a statement that an official medical exam confirmed Bolsonaro has a hernia “that requires elective surgical repair.”
According to the statement, medical experts recommended the procedures take place “as soon as possible” due to the impact of Bolsonaro’s health issues on his sleep and eating habits, and an “increased risk of complications from the hernia.”
Bolsonaro has a history of abdominal issues after being stabbed during his 2018 election campaign, and has required several follow-up surgeries.
His lawyers have also requested Bolsonaro be allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest for health reasons, but Moraes rejected that request Friday.
Bolsonaro had been under house arrest until shortly before the official start of his jail term, when he was detained after he took a soldering iron to his ankle monitoring bracelet in what the court saw as an escape attempt.
The former president said he was acting under medication-induced paranoia.
