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Aren't they just "accused of arson" at this point?

Interesting point. One word seems to bias us toward sympathetic assumptions, and the other away from them.

I'm struggling to think of a good neutral term for this case.

Those aren't mutually exclusive. France isn't known for having neutered nonviolent protests like those in the US and UK.

It's true, but if a murderer that donated to charity was imprisoned I would probably go with "a murderer imprisoned in France" rather than "a philanthropist imprisoned in France".

How about a "murderous philanthropist"?

> France isn't known for having neutered nonviolent protests

It definitely is.

> "An arsonist imprisoned in France"

this is not factual as arson is an accusation

If you look into Koba's life before he came Stalin; even if you try to give what he did neutral descriptions, the words "mafia racket" still comes to mind.