FOIX, France — A French vegan activist was set to appear in court on Thursday for allegedly condoning terrorism after writing on social media that a butcher killed in an Islamist attack deserved his fate, a legal source told AFP.

The unusual case, being prosecuted under France’s tough anti-terror security laws, was to be heard in the town of Saint-Gaudens in southwest France.

Police in the region spotted a message overnight on Monday-Tuesday related to the killing of a butcher at the Super U supermarket in Trebes last week during an attack by a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group, the source said.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

“So then, you are shocked that a murderer is killed by a terrorist,” wrote the vegan and activist for animal rights. “Not me. I’ve got zero compassion for him, there’s some justice in it.”

The message sparked instant criticism and complaints and the author later withdrew it, the legal source said, but prosecutors decided to press charges for condoning terrorism anyway.

The charge can be brought against anyone suspected of approving terrorism or commenting on it favorably. Doing so on the internet carries a maximum seven-year jail term and a fine of up to 100,000 euros ($125,000).

A left-wing French activist who had stood for parliament last June, Stephane Poussier, was handed a one-year suspended jail term on Tuesday over comments he posted on Twitter over the same attack.

The shooting spree by a Moroccan-born Frenchman last Friday around the towns of Carcassonne and Trebes left four people dead, including a local policeman who exchanged himself for a hostage but was then killed.

President Emmanuel Macron led tributes on Wednesday at a national commemoration for the officer, Arnaud Beltrame, a colonel in the local paramilitary police.

“Whenever a policeman is shot… I think of my friend Remi Fraisse,” Poussier had written on Twitter, referring to an environmental activist killed by a stun grenade fired by police during a 2014 protest over a dam.

“And this time it was a colonel, great! Additionally, it means one less Macron voter,” he added.</s>Foix (France) (AFP) - A French vegan activist was handed a suspended prison term on Thursday for condoning terrorism after writing on Facebook that "justice" had been served when a butcher was killed during an Islamist attack last week, a legal source said.

The unusual case, prosecuted under France's tough anti-terror security laws, was heard in the town of Saint-Gaudens in southwest France.

Police spotted the Facebook message by the vegan cheesemaker on Monday night about the killing of butcher Christian Medves at a Super U supermarket in Trebes last week during a shooting spree by an Islamic extremist.

"So then, you are shocked that a murderer is killed by a terrorist." wrote the animal rights activist, named as Myriam by local media. "Not me. I've got zero compassion for him, there's justice in it."

With France mourning the four victims of the gunman's rampage, the message sparked outrage online and the author later deleted it, but prosecutors decided to press charges for condoning terrorism, a legal source said.

During sentencing on Thursday, the defendant was handed a suspended prison term of seven months, meaning she will not serve any time behind bars unless she re-offends, local prosecutor Cecile Deprade told AFP.

Anyone suspected of approving terrorism or commenting on it favourably can be charged under French law. Doing so on the internet carries a maximum seven-year jail term and a fine of up to 100,000 euros ($125,000).

"I can understand that you can love and defend animals, but not to the point where you hate humans," Franck Alberti, a lawyer who is close to the butcher's family, was quoted as saying by Le Parisien newspaper.

The Facebook post also drew condemnation from the French Butchers' Confederation which called it "dreadful" and urged respect for Medves, a 50-year-old father of two who was head of the meat section in the Super U.

La Depeche du Midi newspaper published a message from the vegan activist earlier this week in which she said she had deleted her comment within two hours and thought it was visible only to her friends, not to the public.

A left-wing French activist who had stood for parliament last June, Stephane Poussier, was handed a one-year suspended jail term on Tuesday over comments he posted on Twitter over the same attack last Friday.

Poussier had welcomed the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, a police colonel who exchanged himself for a hostage but was then killed in an act hailed as heroic.

"Whenever a policeman is shot... I think of my friend Remi Fraisse," he wrote, referring to an environmental activist killed by a stun grenade fired by police during a 2014 protest over a dam.

"And this time it was a colonel, great! Additionally, it means one less Macron voter," he added.

President Emmanuel Macron led tributes on Wednesday at a national commemoration for Beltrame.</s>A vegan activist is facing a lawsuit after she made a Facebook post praising the death of a butcher who was shot in the supermarket attack in the French city of Trebes.

"Well, are you shocked by the death of an assassin who was killed by the terrorist? I am personally not. In my opinion, justice has been imposed this way," the woman wrote, commenting on what had happened.

The lawsuit was filed by the French union of meat manufacturers (CFBCT), who accused the vegan activist of justifying terrorism.

On March 23, Radouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old French citizen of Moroccan descent, shot at police officers near the city of Carcassonne and afterwards took hostages in a Super U supermarket in Trebes. Media reported that the jihadist pledged allegiance to Daesh and demanded the release of the only surviving attacker involved in the November 2015 Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam. Four people were killed and 16 others were wounded during the shooting spree before Lakdim was himself shot by police.
A French animal rights activist is charged under counterterror legislation for praising the death of a butcher in a terror attack.