A mom has been convicted in a French court of “glorifying a crime” by sending her son who is named Jihad to nursery school wearing an “I am a bomb” 9/11 T-shirt.
The front of the preschooler’s shirt (or sweater as it is sometimes described) read “je suis une bombe” and the back of the shirt contained his name and that he was born on September 11. Jihad was reportedly born on September 11, 2009.
The youngster’s mom, Bouchra Bagour, 35, and his uncle, Zeyadh Bagour, were tried in Avignon, France , in March for this alleged offense after a teacher alerted authorities, but were found not guilty.
Unlike our law courts, the French legal system allows prosecutors to appeal, and a higher court in Nimes, France, today found them both guilty. No one is actually going to jail, however. Bouchra Bagour received a suspended one-month prison sentence and a fine equivalent to about $2700. Jihad’s uncle, who gave his nephew the shirt, received a two-month suspended sentence and a fine of roughly $5400.
They both apparently claimed that the T-shirt was primarily meant as a joke. According to The Local , France edition, Zeyad, 29 said: “I had no intention of being provocative or shocking people. For me the words “I am a bomb’ mean ‘I am beautiful.’ Their lawyer is considering an appeal of the conviction to the country’s Supreme Court in Paris.
According to AFP , the now four-year-old’s mother “said she had simply wanted to mark the birthday of her son… and had not intended any connection with the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001.” She added, the International Business Times reports, that “The text is simply my son’s name and his date of birth. It’s a bit different but I thought it would make people laugh. My brother gave my son the shirt, I put it on him, and I never thought anything of it.”
[Image via Shutterstock ]
