Former French pageant girl jailed for "apology of terrorism"

Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-17 21:19:19|Editor: Zhou Xin
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PARIS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- A young French woman was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison with a reprieve of one year for an "apology" of terrorism, a crime in France for defending or inciting terrorism.

A court in the southern city of Montpellier suspended her probation of three years, during which she received counselling and had to seek permission before traveling abroad.

Laetitia, 26, from Castelnau-le-Lez in southern France, was the runner-up in the beauty pageant Miss Carnon in 2014.

She converted to Islam between February and March 2016, and had pledged allegiance to the Islamic States (IS). She had also been in contact with the extremist group through Facebook.

Investigators found on her phone photos of women and children in the niqab or burqa, songs praising the glory of IS, videos of a child decapitating a doll, and images of attacks and beheadings of prisoners, said Jerome Reynes, president of the Montpellier Criminal Court.

Recordings of telephone conversations that she allegedly had with a man living in Tunisia revealed "virulent" remarks about "the necessity of jihadist fighting" against people who are not Muslims, the court said.

Laetitia claimed that she had changed her mindset.

"At the time I thought so, I was looking for something that I did not have and I met those people who were nice and attracted my attention. They proved to be not so nice," she told the prosecutor.

Laetitia's mother told local radio that the young woman had a difficult adolescence.

"She was lost, she went out with marginal people, she kept running away and used drugs," the mother said, adding that she noticed the change in her daughter.

"She spoke about religion and dressed herself in black...Until one day, the police came, searched, and took her away," the mother recalled.

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