Court of Appeal decision today
Mohamed Tataiat, the imam of the Great Mosque of Empalot in Toulouse, was sentenced at first instance to a 6-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 euros for “incitement to racial hatred”. The Toulouse Court of Appeal was then seized. She must make her decision this Wednesday, August 31.
It is today, Wednesday August 31, 2022, that the decision of the Toulouse Court of Appeal is expected to confirm or reverse the conviction at first instance of the imam of the Grand Mosque. Mohamed Tataiat was tried in June 2021 for “incitement to racial hatred” and sentenced to 6 months suspended prison sentence and 10,000 euros fine by the Toulouse Criminal Court.
At the origin of this legal case, a sermon held by the Toulouse Muslim cleric. In a video from December 15, 2017, Mohamed Tataiat worked a reference in Arabic to a saying of the Prophet Mohamed who would call on Muslims to kill Jews: “The Jews are hiding behind the rocks and the trees and the rocks and the trees will say: “Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him“. On viewing these images, the prefect of Haute-Garonne seized the Toulouse prosecutor’s office in June 2018. The imam of the Great Mosque was then indicted five months later.
Two years later, Mohamed Tataiat is judged. During his trial, he explains that his words were misinterpreted and that the translation was “altered“. He was however sentenced and then chose to appeal. The second instance hearing only took place last May and the decision is expected today. According to his conviction, Mohamed Tataiat has five days to seize the Court of Cassation, if desired.