Francois Burgat, a renowned French specialist on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and political Islam, was acquitted on Wednesday by the criminal court of Aix-en-Provence, in southeastern France, where he was prosecuted on charges of “apology for terrorism” for messages posted on social media.

The case began with a post the scholar published on X (formerly Twitter) on 2 January 2024, where he shared a statement by Hamas following the publication of a New York Times investigation into sexual violence allegedly committed by the Palestinian group during its 7 October attacks in Israel.

In the statement, Hamas rejected the accusations and denounced a "Zionist attempt to demonise the [Palestinian] resistance".

"Our fighters are fighters for freedom and dignity and cannot commit such shameful acts," Hamas said in the statement shared by Burgat.

In response to internet users who condemned his post, the former academic wrote that he had "infinitely more respect and consideration for the leaders of Hamas than for those of the state of Israel".