A French court has convicted four men of cyberbullying French DJ and LGBTQ activist Barbara Butch who faced harassment and death threats after her performance at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
The men were convicted on Friday of online harassment and threats of violence. They received prison sentences ranging from four months suspended to ten months' jail time.
The Paris criminal court acquitted a fifth man in the case.
The DJ and body-positive feminist – who goes by her stage name Barbara Butch – was inundated by hateful messages after the Olympics opening ceremony in July last year.
She was at the centre of a scene, alongside dancers and drag queens, that was reminiscent of depictions of "The Last Supper" – the final meal that Jesus is said to have shared with his apostles.
While organisers said they intended to portray a pagan feast and meant no offence, some Christians and far-right groups took offence, claiming it mocked Christian values.
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Barbara Butch was "threatened with death, torture and rape, and [had] also been the target of numerous anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist and grossophobic insults", her lawyer Audrey Msellati said after the DJ filed a complaint in July last year.
During a hearing in September, Barbara Butch said she had "just wanted to bury herself and disappear at that moment". She said she developed agoraphobia and psoriasis after the harassment and needed antidepressants.
The defendants present at the hearing – including a student, a father and carer – admitted to sending messages but denied they were threatening or constituted harassment. Several said they were offended by what they saw as a "parody of religion".
Only one defendant, who was not present, was sentenced to a prison term that must be served behind bars due to "extremely serious acts", the presiding judge said in the decision.
Other artists involved in the Olympics opening ceremony were also cyberbullied, including chief choreographer Thomas Jolly. Seven people were found guilty in May for bullying him online, receiving fines and suspended sentences.
In an unrelated case, ten people were recently tried for the sexist cyberbulling of France's First Lady Brigitte Macron. They are accused of posting malicious comments online that she was born a man and of associating the 24-year age gap with her husband with “pedophilia". The verdict is due in January.
(with newswires)
