France’s Le Pen acquitted in hate speech case over Daesh tweets

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been acquitted of breaking hate speech laws in late 2015 when she posted images of Daesh atrocities on Twitter.

After the hearing on Tuesday, Le Pen's defence lawyers said that freedom of expression had been safeguarded.

Le Pen had displayed the three images, including one of the decapitated body of American journalist James Foley, after a prominent television interviewer compared her party to the terror group.

She had previously said she tweeted the images to highlight the absurdity of the comparison and had denied any wrongdoing, calling the trial politically motivated.

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Dissemination of violent messages

Opinion polls show Le Pen will be President Emmanuel Macron's main challenger in next year's election.

She was charged under an article in the penal code that prohibits the dissemination of violent messages that could seriously harm human dignity.

Prosecutors had sought a fine of around 6,000 dollars, far below the maximum sentence of three years in jail or an over 90,000 dollar penalty.

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