A court in France has found 11 people guilty of cyberbullying a teenage girl who criticized Islam on social networks. This is reported by The Independent.
According to the publication, the victim posted videos with sharp criticism of religion on Instagram and TikTok two years ago. According to her lawyer Richard Malki, after the publication, the girl received more than 100 thousand messages with threats and intimidation. Users spoke negatively about the girl, rudely commented on her sexual orientation and even threatened with rape. The defender also noted that the girl had to change schools. For a year, she led a hermit lifestyle and was under round-the-clock protection.

During the investigation, the police detained 13 people: ten men and three women aged from 18 to 30 years. 11 of them were sentenced to a year in prison on probation and fined $ 1,770. The judge compared the activity on social networks with the behavior in public places and urged the accused to be guided by the rules of decency and politeness when communicating on the Internet.

According to The Christian Science Monitor, the number of cases of intimidation and bullying of the French on social networks has increased by 30 percent during the coronavirus pandemic. This phenomenon mainly affects young people. In January 2021, the French authorities created a nationwide anti-discrimination center and a special court to prosecute those responsible for online crimes and cyberbullying.