Political pressure results in overturn of French Anti-Islamophobia Academic's acquittal for pro Palestine posts

London — Distinguished French academic François Burgat has been convicted by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal due to his support of Palestinian resistance and opposition to genocide. The ruling is the latest in a systematic campaign by the French state to suppress solidarity with Palestine and eradicate political dissent through the instrument of counter-terrorism law.

Burgat was initially acquitted in May 2025, after a criminal court accepted that his posts fell squarely within academic and political expression. The appeal court's reversal of that judgment one year later makes clear that the French legal system is prepared to override its own findings when the political stakes demand it.

The posts at the heart of this prosecution, were Hamas statements and expressions of respect for the Palestinian leadership, and reflected the kind of political and moral assessment that any person confronting colonial violence would make.

In December 2024, CAGE documented the French state's prosecution of Elias d'Imzalene - a leading pro-Palestine campaigner convicted and fined for using the word "intifada" at an anti-genocide rally. The Burgat verdict continues that pattern : academics, activists, lawyers, and community members prosecuted for solidarity with people resisting a genocide. 

Rayan Freschi, France based researcher for CAGE International, said: 

"The French state has convicted François Burgat for refusing to accept that Palestinian resistance should be treated as terrorism while Israeli state violence goes unchallenged. An acquittal was overturned on appeal, which is clear political pressure producing a political outcome. We stand with Burgat and all who have faced similar persecution."

CHRONOLGY

• François Burgat, a distinguished French political scientist and expert on the Muslim world, was convicted on appeal by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal on 27 May 2026 for apologie du terrorisme (glorification of terrorism).•         The appeal court overturned an acquittal from May 2025, in which the criminal court had accepted that Burgat's pro Palestinian resistance posts constituted academic and political expression

• The conviction relates to 2024 social-media posts, including the reposting of a Hamas statement contesting allegations linked to 7 October 2023, and a comment in which Burgat stated he held greater respect for Hamas leaders than Israeli leaders

• Sentence: €5,000 fine plus damages to civil parties

• Burgat's legal team has announced a cassation appeal and potential recourse before the European Court of Human Rights