Karim Benzema had filed a complaint for defamation against far-right activist Damien Rieu. The latter was acquitted by the Lyon criminal court.
“ The thousands of Nueve greemlins are very silent this evening… what a pleasure! », rejoiced Damien Rieu, posting on X a photo montage of him holding the Ballon d’Or. In May 2022, Karim Benzema sued the far-right activist for public defamation. The latter had published a photo of the attacker with his index finger in the air, alongside those of jihadists making the same gesture. He received a release.
The Lyon public prosecutor’s office requested a fine of 10,000 euros against Damien Lefèvre (his real name) last June. The prosecutor had mentioned “ an insult to those who fight against Islamist terrorism, and to those who have suffered from it in their flesh “. The Lyon criminal court ruled that the comments, even defamatory in terms, could benefit from good faith, which leads to acquittal in press matters, as described by the AFP.
Sylvain Cormier, the lawyer for “KB9”, cries scandal. “ Granting good faith to Damien Rieu is an aberration “, he reacted after the verdict. Benzema’s representative assured last June that making fun of Benzema was possible, but that “ associating him with a terrorist, we have no right “. In any case, this is the end of this little legal battle. It was won by the man who is one of the leaders of Reconquest, Éric Zemmour’s party.
