Unjustly Convicted Activist Starts Hunger Strike After Receiving 15-Year Sentence

Paris - Abdelhakim Sefrioui began a hunger strike on December 31st to protest the unjust and politicized conviction he has faced. The 65-year-old French community activist has been sentenced to 15 years for allegedly organizing an online 'hate campaign' against Samuel Paty, despite having no connections to Paty's killer. This sentence follows a four-year pre-trial detention, the maximum allowed by law, during which Sefrioui was subjected to discriminatory questioning regarding his faith and even placed in solitary confinement on multiple occasions for an extended period of time. 

This conviction is the latest example of the French state's attempt to target prominent figures within the Muslim community, using anti-terrorism legislation to facilitate state-sponsored Islamophobia.

Rayan Freschi, French legal jurist and researcher for CAGE International
"This sentence shows the state's determination to make Abdelhakim Sefrioui, a well-known pro-Palestinian activist, an example to all Muslims in France. Although he was not involved in any act of violence, the courts condemned him as a murderer and fed the far-right and Islamophobic voices calling for revenge. Anti-terror legislation was used as the most effective weapon to punish a man who had nothing to do with the crime. The trial wouldn't have taken place in any country that respected the rule of law, as no material connection was found between Sefrioui and the alleged murderer - who was killed by French police. The French state, true to its brutal and unhinged state- sponsored Islamophobia, has chosen to make in Sefrioui a lesson to all those who dare to express dissenting opinions."

To learn more about AAbdelhakim Sefrioui read his case profile