Benzema Files Defamation suit Against French Interior Minister
Agencies – Sudan Events
French star Karim Benzema filed a defamation lawsuit against his country’s Interior Minister, due to his statements to local media in which he claimed that Benzema was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Gerald Darmanin had stated about two months ago to French media that Benzema “has a notorious relationship” with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Benzema’s lawyer responded that the statements “harm” his client’s honor and reputation.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a banned group and is on the list of terrorist groups in several countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
Darmanin’s statements came more than two months ago, when Benzema tweeted on the X platform, formerly Twitter, expressing his support for the people of the Gaza Strip, and considering them “once again victims of an unjustified bombing that has no mercy on women or children.”
Darmanin said that Benzema did not express similar sympathy for the approximately 1,300 Israeli victims killed by Hamas in the war, adding that the former France national team striker was “known to have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.”
The French politician added to the conservative C News channel, “We are fighting the Muslim Brotherhood because it encourages a climate of jihad.”
Benzema, who is 36 years old and plays for the Saudi Jeddah Federation, announced that he would quickly file the lawsuit, after he issued a statement in which he denied Darmanin’s accusations..
The French media reported, citing the lawsuit papers, that Nzima said that he “had never had any relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, nor with any of its members, as far as he knew.”
The former Real Madrid star added: “I know how bad my reputation has become. I am being exploited in a political game, and the biggest scandal is that what happened on October 7 last required something completely different from this type of statement.”