The Patriot Post® · After 'Je Suis Charlie,' France Prosecutes Comedian for Joke

So much for the freedom of speech. After the marches in France supporting the work of Paris satire paper Charlie Hebdo, the French government cracked down on a comedian who made a joke by mashing together the name of the newspaper and the name of the jihadi who attacked a kosher market, Amedy Coulibaly. Dieudonne M'bala M'bala – a controversial comedic figure in France – posted this message on Facebook: “After this historic march what do I say… Legendary. Instant magic equal to the Big Bang that created the universe. To a lesser extent (more local) comparable to the coronation of Vercingétorix, I finally returned home. You know that tonight as far as I’m concerned I feel like Charlie Coulibaly.” The joke was too soon for French officials, who now say they will prosecute the comedian for sympathizing with terrorism. For that charge, M'bala M'bala faces seven years in jail. To be fair, France has laws smothering speech that denies the Holocaust or that is hate-speech, as defined by the government. At least France doesn’t have anti-blasphemy laws, or the story of Charlie Hebdo would be different, with France prosecuting the cartoonists and the international community saying they deserved any violence they received. More…