French football star, Karim Benzema, filed a defamation lawsuit against Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, after the latter accused him of being linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, local media reported.
Darmanin criticized the former French national team striker and winner of the Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world in 2022, after he published on the October.
Benzema said at the time: “All our prayers are for the people of Gaza, who are once again falling victim to this unjust bombing, which did not spare women or children.”
The French Minister of the Interior explained that this position can be explained by Benzema’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic organization that was established in Egypt and is classified as “terrorist” by a number of countries.
“Karim Benzema has a relationship, as we all know, with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Darmanin said on C News.
Karim Benzema, 36, who plays in Saudi Arabia, quickly issued a denial and threatened to take legal action against the minister for defamation.
In his 92-page complaint, which was reported by French media, including the website of the TV channel “RTLBenzema considered that these statements “undermined” his honor and reputation, noting that “he did not have the slightest connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, and did not know any of its members.”
He continued: “I realize to what extent I am being used, because of my reputation, in political games, and it is the biggest scandal given that the dramatic events that have occurred since October 7 deserve something completely different from this type of statement.”
His lawyer, Hugues Vigier, told French channel RTL that the footballer is a victim of “political exploitation,” accusing the Interior Minister of “sowing division in France.”
Darmanin had previously targeted Karim Benzema for other reasons, including his “refusal” to sing the French national anthem, and what he considered “the practice of religious proselytization on social media.”
2024-01-17 04:23:57
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