After serious allegations
Superstar Benzema is suing France’s interior minister
January 18, 2024, 6:30 a.m
Now it’s probably going to court. Football star Karim Benzema defends himself against statements made by the French Interior Minister and is said to have filed a lawsuit for defamation. This was preceded by controversial statements by the national player about the Middle East conflict.
According to media reports, the 97-time national soccer player Karim Benzema is said to have filed a defamation lawsuit against the French Interior Minister. A corresponding report from “Info RTL” was confirmed by the newspaper “Le Parisien”. Last October, politician Gérald Darmanin accused Benzema of being close to the Muslim Brotherhood without providing any concrete evidence. Benzema’s lawyer, Hugues Vigier, is said to have filed a 92-page complaint on Tuesday with the Cour de justice de la République, which has the power to prosecute and convict members of the government.
Benzema repeats on ten pages that he has no connection to the Muslim Brotherhood and that this accusation damages his reputation and honor, according to “Info RTL”. Benzema, who has been playing in Saudi Arabia since last summer, is a victim of “political instrumentalization,” explained Vigier.
Darmanin’s statement in October was preceded by a pro-Palestinian post by Benzema on social networks about the Middle East conflict. “We pray for the people of Gaza, who have once again become victims of these unjust bombings that do not spare women or children,” Benzema wrote. Afterwards, critics accused him of having a one-sided view.
When asked by “Parisien” at the time, the Interior Ministry stated that “for several years we have noticed a slow slide in Karim Benzema’s statements towards a hard, rigorous Islam, which is typical of the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, which consists in… “to spread Islamic norms in various areas of society, especially in sports”.