France Seeks Jail Time for Iranian Woman, Ignores Saudi Billions
The New Arab reports France seeks to imprison an Iranian woman, Faten Hamama, for online comments, linking the case to a possible prisoner swap. It’s a curious application of justice, considering the very public diplomatic dance between Paris and Tehran. One might wonder if this 'crackdown' on online speech isn't just another negotiating chip in a larger, less transparent game. (Perhaps a certain
€10 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, or lucrative oil contracts, factors into which 'terrorism promoters' get the heavy-handed treatment and which get a polite silence.) While France meticulously prosecutes alleged Iranian online offenses, critics point to a stark double standard. Where is the similar judicial zeal for individuals promoting, for example, Saudi Arabia's devastating war in Yemen
or the Gulf states' funding of various hardline factions across the Middle East? The silence is deafening when the 'free speech' principle collides with the national balance sheets. It appears 'terrorism promotion' is a crime only for those nations currently out of favor with the Western foreign policy establishment, a consistent pattern for any global superpower seeking to maintain a 'rules-based
order' that they themselves wrote.