About fifty French MPs from President Macron’s Renaissance political group have asked the President of the European Parliament to lift the parliamentary immunity of French far-left MEP Rima Hassan because of her presence at a pro-Hamas demonstration in Amman, Jordan, in mid-August, considering this presence a kind of “apology for terrorism”.

During the demonstration on August 16 in the Jordanian capital, “dozens of posters” were waved in memory of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran on July 31, wrote the MPs, who also sent a report to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

The MPs point out that “the slogans chanted at the demonstration were a tribute to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and called for the murder of Jews and ‘jihad’ against ‘evildoers'”.

The group of MPs has also filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office for “incitement to racial hatred” and “defense of terrorism.” This complaint, filed through a lawyer, is based on Article 40 of the Penal Code, which requires “any established authority, public official or civil servant in the exercise of their functions” to report crimes or offenses of which they have knowledge, the signatories add.

The MEPs consider that Rima Hassan, a member of the “La France Insoumise” (Indomitable France) party, “provocatively displayed her barely concealed support for the terrorist organisation Hamas” during an “Islamist and pro-terrorist demonstration”.

In their report to the Paris prosecutor’s office, the group of MPs’ lawyers refer to tweets published on Rima Hassan’s X-account. In their view, the content she publishes on the social network “constitutes threats against political figures she considers close to the Israeli government.”

“For several months, Ms Hassan has been participating excessively in spreading hatred of Jews in Europe, in particular by adopting several anti-Jewish conspiracy clichés and denying the State of Israel its right to exist,” they claim.

In a letter to the European Parliament, MEPs Roberta Metsola call on the French MEPs to lift their parliamentary immunity “should proceedings be initiated against them.”

For Hassan, the rally she attended was a “usual” demonstration in support of the Palestinian cause that takes place every Friday in Amman and “by no means a pro-Hamas demonstration or a tribute to Hamas leaders.”

“In all demonstrations in the region, be it in Lebanon or Jordan, there are protesters who may show their support for Hamas, but I cannot take responsibility for that,” she added.

Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian activist and politician close to LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, was elected in the EU elections in June.