PARIS, 25 January 2004 — Mohamed Latreche, the French Islamic leader, is under judicial investigation for allegedly making anti-Zionist statements.
Latreche’s association, Parti des Musulmans de France, was responsible for organizing recent marches against a proposed law banning headscarves in schools. The statements were allegedly made during the march on Jan. 17 when some 10,000 demonstators took to the streets of Paris and 10,000 others were reported to have marched throughout France.
According to French Justice Minister Dominique Perben, a specialized office of his ministry, will examine in detail audio and video recordings of statements Latreche which were broadcast on French radio and TV. One source in the ministry claimed that Latreche had said “Zionism is an ideology of apartheid that we are combating in the same way that we combat Nazism,”
He is also alleged to have said that, in his estimation, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Adolf Hitler were one and the same.
The Justice Ministry investigation was prompted, said the source, by complaints from several French anti-racist and Jewish organizations, among them the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism and the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France. They say that Latreche’s statements were not only anti-Zionist but also “anti-Semitic.” They have demanded the Justice Ministry ban his party.
As a compromise, said the source, the Justice Ministry decided to open its investigation but has informed the two organizations that the dissolution of a political party is not in its power.
Latreche has responded to the investigation, saying that he is “the victim of a defamation campaign.”
