French far-right leader refuses court-ordered psych test
French far-right politician Marine Le Pen has refused to submit to a court-ordered psychiatric exam over tweeting images of cruel acts of violence by Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group, voicing outrage over the ruling.
Comparing the demand for the mental evaluation to methods used by authoritarian regimes, she tweeted on Thursday copies of the court order that was issued last week instructing the rightist leader to undergo the examination “as soon as possible”. She described the ruling as “crazy,” local press reported.
“I thought I had been through it all: well, no! For having condemned Daesh [ISIS] horrors in tweets, the ‘justice system’ is putting me through psychiatric tests! Just how far will they go?” Le Pen wrote in her Twitter message as quoted in press reports.
The French lawmaker and president of the far-right National Rally political party had shared the shocking images in December 2015, a few weeks after Daesh sympathizers waged coordinated terror attacks that killed 130 people across Paris. The French president at the time, François Hollande, referred to the attacks as “an act of war.”
Le Pen was stripped of her parliamentary immunity over publicly sharing the graphic photos, including those of executed US journalist James Foley, and charged with circulating violent images that could be accessed by a minor. She faces a maximum 3-year jail term and a fine of $87,000 if convicted.
However, the extremist French legislator insisted that she would not comply with the court-ordered mental exam, which is not legally binding, according to local media outlets.
This is while Le Pen’s defiance against the court received backing from other major far-right politicians -- including Steve Bannon, former chief strategist for US President Donald Trump, and Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who expressed “solidarity with her and those French people who love liberty.”
Le Pen was the second leading candidate in France’s presidential election in 2017 but lost to current President Emmanuel Macron.
She became one of the two top presidential contenders in the country despite having been charged back in December 2015 with “inciting discrimination” after comparing Muslim congressional prayers to Nazi wartime occupation of Europe. She was acquitted of the charges.
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