French politician Marine Le Pen acquitted in trial over breaking hate speech laws

French far-right politician and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was acquitted on Tuesday by a court after facing a trial over publishing images of Islamic State atrocities on Twitter in December 2015, which prosecutors said broke hate speech laws.

Le Pen, whom opinion polls say is likely to face President Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 presidential election final round vote, had tweeted the images after some French media carried comments comparing her National Front party - now renamed Rassemblement National - to Islamic State.

She tweeted the images of Islamic State atrocities to highlight what she said was the absurdity of the comparison.

Le Pen denied any wrongdoing and slammed a politically motivated trial and an attack against freedom of speech.

Reuters