Bloggers who urged rioters investigated

[Freddie Stubbs]

By PIERRE-ANTOINE SOUCHARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

PARIS -- Paris prosecutors opened an inquiry Tuesday into two young bloggers who urged French youths to riot and revolt against the police, a judicial official said.

The youths, a 16-year-old French teen and an 18-year-old with Ghanian nationality, were detained Monday in the Paris region, the official said.

They were to be placed under investigation, a step short of formal charges, for inciting harm to people and property over the Internet, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because French law bars the disclosure of information from ongoing investigations. The charge carries a risk of up to five years in prison and a $52,800 fine.

The blog, called "hardcore," was run by the 18-year-old, and the younger teen posted comments on it, the official said. A 14-year-old was also questioned Monday in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence and was released.

In 12 days of unrest in France, bloggers have posted appeals for calm alongside insults targeting police, threats of more violence and warnings that the unrest will feed support for France's anti-immigration extreme right.

more: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103AP_France_Rioting_Blogs_FR1.html