French 8-year-old questioned by police about sympathizing with terrorism

The tweets have been confirmed by David Perrotin of France’s Nouvel Observateur magazine, who originally reported the story. Perrotin told Fusion that Ahmed was called to the police office with his father.

French Twitter users have begun mocking the incident, and expressed concern the case may be setting a precedent:

“Eight years old. Accused by his instructor in front of the police for sympathizing with terrorism. France is going to become the punchline of the world.”

This is the latest incident of French authorities formally questioning individuals for allegedly expressing support with terrorism or terrorists. In the most prominent example, the French comedian known as Dieudonné was detained after he wrote “I am Charlie Coulibaly,” a conflation of the Charlie Hebdo magazine with the name of the terrorist who murdered four individuals in a Paris Kosher grocery store.

There have also been isolated reports of some French students facing punishment for refusing to observe moments of silence for the victims of the attack.

Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.