New initiative in French parliament on criminalizing Armenian Genocide denial
MP Valerie Boyer (UMP) has come up with another initiative to criminalize denial of genocides, including the Armenian Genocide, Ermenihaber.am news website reported.
The MP offers the French National Assembly to set up a committee to investigate the causes of rejection of the previous genocide denial bill by the French Constitutional Council.
On December 22, French National Assembly passed the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial.
The vote followed the December 7 decision by the Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly to adopt the bill introduced by Valerie Boyer.
The draft law envisaged a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros for those who publicly deny the Armenian Genocide in France.
On January 23, 2012 after a debate that lasted about eight hours, the upper chamber of the French Parliament - Senate – approved the draft law, by 127 votes to 86.
On February 28, 2012, the French Constitutional Court ruled that the new French law that criminalized denial of genocides was illegal.