The anti-terror raid on SOS Chrétiens d’Orient follows years of smear campaigns by left-wing media over its work in Syria.

By Hélène de LAUZUN

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SOS Chrétiens d’Orient, which for twelve years has provided aid to Christians in Middle Eastern countries affected by war and persecution, is facing an unprecedented attack from the French justice system—based on malicious accusations reported in the left-wing investigative newspaper Mediapart.

In recent days, the organisation, based in Boulogne on the outskirts of Paris, has seen investigators from the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office turn up at their premises and conduct a thorough search of their offices and staff computers. Volunteers—a handful of the 3,300 that SOS Chrétiens d’Orient has sent on missions since its foundation—were also questioned, as were contractors and collaborators of the organisation. Those questioned said the show of force was completely disproportionate.

The accusation dates back five years. In 2019, the newspaper Mediapart published a series of four articles intended to tarnish the reputation of the humanitarian organisation, portraying it as a structure supporting Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime. In 2022, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity, based on Mediapart’s report, leading to searches and interrogations a few days ago.

SOS Chrétiens d’Orient is accused of paying funds raised in France to the National Defence Forces (NDF), pro-Bashar al-Assad militias accused by Syrian NGOs of looting villages, bombing civilians, and training children to fight.

The association’s office strongly denies all the allegations. Charles de Meyer, the organisation’s chairman, points out that SOS Chrétiens is subject to strict control procedures, like so many other charitable organisations, and it can guarantee the traceability of its donations, none of which have been used to support Assad’s camp.

“SOS Chrétiens d’Orient has always been extremely transparent about its activities in Syria, assisting civilians in all areas where they were harassed by Islamist forces, amid total indifference from the French political authorities,” states the official press release published after the search of the premises. SOS Chrétiens d’Orient’s contribution took the form of emergency medical supplies, food, and blankets—not the financing of weapons, as certain hostile accounts on X were quick to claim.

The attack is purely political. Charles de Meyer, president and founder of the association, is known for his right-wing political views and is close to conservative MEP Marion Maréchal. Political bias also applies to the situation in Syria. At the time of the publication of the Mediapart articles, the left-wing newspaper argued that SOS Chrétiens d’Orient was “taking a political stance” by agreeing to rescue the victims of Al Qaeda in Syria, known locally as Jabat Al-Nosra—a front that the French government at the time viewed favourably because it was fighting against Assad. The X Arab Intelligence account, which monitors news about the Middle East on the web, points out that French NGOs close to the Muslim Brotherhood, which at the time were collaborating with Al-Nosra, were never questioned.

Franco-Syrian intellectuals are behind the alleged revelations sent to Mediapart and repeated in other media outlets (France Info, L’Express). They have been sued for defamation by SOS Chrétiens d’Orient.

Today, SOS Chrétiens d’Orient operates in nine countries: eight are located in the Middle East, and Ukraine joined the list of beneficiary countries in 2022. Its innovative approach, alongside other older organisations such as L’œuvre d’Orient and Aid to the Church in Need, is based on the commitment of young volunteers sent on missions to countries where Christians are persecuted.

In addition to traditional aid in the form of clothing and medicines, it runs heritage and educational programmes, such as teaching French to Christian populations, in keeping with France’s long-standing presence in the Middle East.

SOS Chrétiens d’Orient has become a key player in the French charitable landscape and an essential voice in the fight against Christianophobia, which explains the animosity of a significant section of the Left and the media against its work.

Original article: europeanconservative.com