France: Six peaceful Christians treated as terrorists for calling for respect for their faith

French socialist Macron appears to want to follow in the footsteps of Venezuelan socialist Nicolás Maduro when it comes to human rights.

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Arrested for the mere fact of asking for respect for their faith

Yesterday, six activists from CitizenGO, an international Christian-inspired NGO, were driving through the streets of Paris on a bus bearing the slogan "Stop attacks on Christians!", next to one of the images of the offenses against Christians at the opening of the Paris Olympic Games.

A peaceful and symbolic protest like this would not be news today in many countries if it were not for what happened when the bus was traveling through Paris. The French Prosecutor's Office, under orders from the executive branch (as is also the case in Spain) ordered the bus to be stopped and its occupants to be arrested, including the driver, as if they were committing a crime simply by asking for respect for their faith.

They were surrounded and arrested "at gunpoint"

Caroline Farrow, a member of the NGO, recounted what happened yesterday, saying that the bus was "stopped at gunpoint by the Parisian gendarmerie, who then surrounded the vehicle. They claimed we were conducting a 'public demonstration without the government's permission'. Six members of my team, including two from the United Kingdom were arrested and driven to a police station, where they were put in handcuffs and transferred to a second secure facility."

Farrow adds: "The bus had been active since 9 am, driving around Paris, passing hundreds of police officers during the day without any problems. Fearing the campaign's impact and the stain on France’s image to the world, the political elites viciously censored CitizenGO in a manner akin to an authoritarian regime. The French police, under political orders from high-level political authorities, arrested six campaigners and the bus driver."

The detainees were stripped naked and denied access to their lawyers.

In addition to the fact that they were detained for no reason, the peaceful Christian activists were treated as if they were dangerous terrorists: "All of their belongings were confiscated, they were stripped and searched, and they were illegally denied to call their personal lawyers. some were even not allowed to call their family members and were held on non-existent charges."

They spent a night detained without food or water and subjected to psychological pressure

Farrow also denounces the pressure exerted on the activists and the driver by the French police: "The detainees faced psychological pressure and threats of extended captivity and spent the night in gross conditions, some even without food or water. Despite the lack of legal grounds for their arrest, significant pressure from CitizenGO's lawyer was required to guarantee their release, which didn’t happen until after 4 am."

An irregular detention without any charges against the detainees

CitizenGO's lawyer has stated the following about this arrest: "It appears impossible to constitute the crime of failing to communicate a protest because there is no protest in the presence of one unique vehicle. The prosecutor pushed the law to its limits to stop the bus and limit their free speech. Moreover, the procedure was irregular."

Yesterday, Farrow noted that following pressure from CitizenGO's lawyer, "the authorities were forced to release our courageous team after they realized they could not have them imprisoned for no legal reason. Ironically, the bus, clearly offensive to the French police and authorities, is still parked at the Police Station in District 16th, 3 blocks from the Arc de Triumph in front of everyone in the middle of downtown Paris. What the French police wanted to censor, is finally being promoted by them."

French authorities demanded the removal of the message calling for respect for Christians

Finally, yesterday afternoon, Farrow noted: "The French authorities DEMANDED that we remove our vinyls and messaging from the bus. Our lawyer resisted, so instead we are being expelled from the city, escorted by the police." Yet another illegal abuse, since no authority can demand the removal of a message that does not violate any law. CitizenGO posted this video showing French police escorting the bus out of Paris:

The French police @prefpolice escorted our bus out of Paris shortly after unjustly arresting us. They are tyrannical, anti-Christian bullies. It's absurd. #Paris2024 #Christianity https://t.co/4SNSuhvEjW pic.twitter.com/6WTM7OlGAq

— CitizenGO (@CitizenGO) August 6, 2024

Macron puts Paris on a par with Caracas and Moscow

This way of acting once again reveals socialism's tendency to become a crusher of freedoms, whatever mask it tries to use and whatever country suffers its abuses: Venezuela, Spain (here we are suffering more and more abuses by the government of the socialist Pedro Sánchez against the rule of law) or France. What happened yesterday in Paris is very reminiscent of situations that are experienced in Caracas or Moscow, where there are dictatorships that also do not accept the free expression of ideas typical of a democracy.

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Photos: CitizenGO.