The left-wing lawmaker also denies media reports alleging she was in possession of illegal drugs when she was taken into custody.
PARIS — French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan has filed a complaint after details of her arrest were leaked to the media while she was in custody last week.
Hassan, a member of The Left group in the European Parliament, was taken into police custody after posting a quote on X by far-left Japanese militant Kōzō Okamoto, who was convicted of a terrorist attack that killed 26 people in Israel in 1972.
The MEP, who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, has placed pro-Palestinian advocacy at the heart of her political work since joining parliament in 2024, earning her both vociferous support and criticism alike in France.
The French daily Le Parisien reported — as Hassan was questioned by police — that “a few grams of synthetic drugs” had been found in her handbag.
On Wednesday, French outlet Le Canard Enchaîné reported that a justice ministry spokesperson, Sacha Straub-Kahn, had been in contact with members of the press during Hassan’s questioning, “discussing with them the details of her detention.”
Straub-Kahn and his office did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment about the allegations contained in the report. He told Le Canard Enchaîné that he had only discussed journalists’ questions about Hassan’s parliamentary immunity.
During questions in parliament Wednesday, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced that Straub-Kahn had filed a complaint for defamation following the publication of the report. Darmanin also said he had requested an internal audit at the justice ministry to verify if any leaks had occurred.
Hassan’s lawyer, Vincent Brengarth, wrote in a statement Wednesday: “In light of the very serious revelations … regarding the massive, real-time disclosure in the press of information covered by the confidentiality of legal investigations, and the exchanges that took place during the operation with the spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, Ms. Rima Hassan has filed a complaint today.”
Hassan has pushed back against the allegations contained in Le Parisien’s report. She said that she had only carried cannabidiol (CBD) products, which had been legally purchased in Brussels, and that she had told investigators where she had acquired them.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said last week that “a search of Rima Hassan’s belongings” had “revealed the presence of substances resembling CBD,” but also “3-MMC,” a common designer drug.
“If the presence of a synthetic drug in the CBD … were to be confirmed, she could only be regarded as a victim, since she was misled about the product’s composition,” her lawyer Brengarth argued.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has also announced a probe into the police leaks that occurred during Hassan’s detention.
Hassan will be tried for “apology of terrorism” on July 7 over her post on X. She has received support from her party, France Unbowed, and its presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon.