Le Pen loses immunity over tweets

BRUSSELS: The European Parliament on Thursday lifted French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen’s immunity from prosecution over her tweeting of images of IS atrocities. The move paves the way for France to pursue a case against the far-right National Front leader, after prosecutors launched a probe in 2015 over the graphic pictures, which included the decapitated body of US journalist James Foley. “The result is clear, a big majority is in favour of the lifting of immunity,” acting parliament speaker Dimitrios Papadimoulis said. The ruling is effective immediately for Le Pen, a National Front MEP, European Parliament officials said. But the decision concerns only the tweets, and not a separate probe into allegations that Le Pen misused public funds when hiring a parliamentary aide, they said. — AFP