7 stand trial over cyber death threats against Paris Olympics artistic director
PARIS: The trial of seven people charged in connection with alleged cyberbullying targeting the artistic director of last summer’s Paris Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies has started in a Paris court. Thomas Jolly filed a complaint for death threats after receiving homophobic and antisemitic abuse on social networks. The online attacks erupted after Jolly’s acclaimed but controversial opening spectacle on the Seine in July — a queer-inclusive, high-energy fusion of tradition and modernity. Local media reported that Jolly did not attend Wednesday’s hearing, with two of the people charged also not attending because they were either sick or could not make themselves available. The abuse last summer quickly escalated, including attacks based on Jolly’s sexual orientation and wrongly assumed Israeli roots, and reportedly aimed to silence the artistic intent of the show.