French Jew who faked anti-Semitic attack gets suspended sentence

A French Jewish teacher who pretended to have been the victim of anti-Semitic violence by Islamic State supporters days after the terror attacks in Paris receives a six-month suspended sentence.

The unnamed 57-year-old maintains his version of events throughout the trial in Marseille, claiming that, just days after the November 13 attacks in Paris, he was assaulted by three men armed with knives, claiming to be from IS.

“The truth is he wasn’t assaulted in the way he says,” says prosecutor Andre Ribes, underlining doubts raised by all the police officers, firefighters, doctors and experts involved in the case.

“I have never seen real injuries from a knife that looked like this,” says one local official, adding that he thought marital problems may have been the reason for the defendant’s lie.

A teacher of history and geography in a Jewish school, the man receives extensive coverage in the media at the time, appearing alongside Jewish community leaders and displaying superficial wounds on his forearm and abdomen.

— AFP