France charges more than 50 for "praising terrorism"

France charges more than 50 for "praising terrorism"

PARIS -- Over 50 judicial proceedings have been launched in France against people suspected of "praising terrorism" in the wake of last weeks attacks in Paris.

According to the Monde newspaper, quoting the Justice Ministry data, more than 20 such processes were initiated on Tuesday alone, while eight people were questioned by the police, and eight more "immediately sent to court."

Five verdicts have been announced so far - including a four-year prison term for a man accused of "praising terrorism" during a drunken rant when stopped by the police.

Two people were sent to jail for one year each for shouting in the streets that they "do not like Charlie Hebdo" and that what happened to the magazine was "good".

At the same time, the comedian Dieudonne is under investigation for a Facebook post in which he said "I feel like Charlie Coulibaly" - in reference to Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four hostages in a kosher supermarket.

That incident happened in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack that resulted in the deaths of 12 people.