Court rejects Benzema complaint against French interior minister

A French court has thrown out a defamation case brought by top football player Karim Benzema against Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who claimed the Al-Ittihad forward had well-known ties with the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.

Benzema, a forward with Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad, claimed interior minister Darmanin had damaged his reputation. AFP - FAYEZ NURELDINE

Benzema – winner of the French 2022 Ballon d'Or – posted on social media on 15 October that Palestinian civilians in Gaza were in his prayers over what he called Israel's "unjust bombardments" of the territory, following the 7 October attacks on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Darmanin, a tough-talking right-winger, alleged on the CNews channel the following day that the 36-year-old player for Saudi side Al-Ittihad had "well-known" ties with the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group, which he described as a "hydra".

Last month, Benzema filed a complaint saying the accusations "undermined" his honour and reputation.

He denied he had ever had the "slightest link with the Muslim Brotherhood organisation".

His complaint was heard by a committee at the country's only court empowered to prosecute politicians for alleged offences committed while in government.

On Thursday top prosecutor Remy Heitz said it had found no grounds for any attack on Benzema's honour or reputation.

• Benzema files defamation complaint against French minister

Hamas, founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, is considered a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union.

On 7 October, Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Palestinian militants also took about 250 people hostage. Around 130 of them remain captive in Gaza, including 29 believed dead, according to Israeli officials.

Relentless Israeli bombardment and fighting in Gaza has since killed at least 28,663 people, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory.

Last month,  French basketball star Emilie Gomis was forced to quit her role as an ambassador for the Paris 2024 Olympics after a social media post she made denouncing the situation in Gaza was deemed anti-Semitic.

(with newswires)