French comedian to face trial for anti-Semitism

[faceless]

French comedian to face trial for anti-Semitism

PARIS (AFP) — A French comic will go on trial next month on charges of anti-Semitism after he awarded a prize to a Holocaust denier during a comedy show, prosecutors said Wednesday. Dieudonne sparked outrage when he had an actor dressed as a Jewish deportee present the prize for "unrespectability and insolence" to Robert Faurisson, an academic who has denied the existence of the Holocaust.

Far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who recently caused an uproar for again calling Nazi gas chambers a "detail of World War II history," was in the audience during the show on December 29 at one of Paris' biggest concert halls. The Paris criminal court will begin hearing the case on May 5, the prosecutor's office said.

The black comedian, whose full name is Dieudonne Mbala Mbala, has over the past years been ordered to pay several fines for inciting hatred. He faces a possible sentence of six months in prison and a maximum fine of 22,500 euros (29,800 dollars) if convicted. In September 2007, he was fined 7,000 euros after he accused Jews of "memorial pornography" for their remembrance of the Holocaust during a press conference in Algeria in 2005. In the same conference he attacked "the Zionist lobby which cultivates the idea of their unique suffering ... and has declared war on the black world."

Last month, the comedian born to a Cameroonian father again caused a stir after he announced plans to run as an "anti-Zionist" candidate in the June elections to the European parliament. Dieudonne is to answer charges of causing offense to a group of persons based on their origin, ethnic background, race or religion, a judicial source said. Several city councils had decided to cancel shows by the comedian over the past months and Culture Minister Christine Albanel called it a "provocation" that "is hurtful and offensive."

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He's either very clever or a complete arsehole. I'm not sure which yet.

[VivaGalloway]

This is my problem with Holocaust denial laws. People with agendas can twist it to include anti-Zionism as hate speech.

[faceless]

But are his claims of anti-Zionism a result of the charges or just an extension of his prejudice?

That's what I'm not sure about.

[faceless]

France Wants to Ban Comedian from Politics
By Lisa Bryant
Paris
05 May 2009

The French government is looking for ways to bar a prominent comedian from fielding candidates for European Parliamentary elections because of his anti-Semitic proposals. The comedian is on trial on charges of inciting hatred against Jews.

French comedian Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala has long been a controversial figure. He is a longtime friend of far-right French politician Jean Marie Le Pen. And he has long been known for his anti-Semitic remarks as an entertainer. Those remarks have landed him in court on charges of inciting hatred. But now he is taking on the political arena as his leftist party hopes to field candidates for June elections to the European Parliament.

That does not please the French government. A senior member of the Elysee Presidential Palace has told the news media the government is studying ways to legally prevent Dieudonne from running in the elections. But Dieudonne denies he is anti-Semitic.

In an interview on Europe 1 Radio, the French comic argued France's conservative government is seeking to politicize the issue because it feared a challenge from his leftist party during the European elections. He said he was not anti-Semitic, claiming that Jews were part of his movement. Rather, he said, he is fighting against a powerful Zionist lobby.

Anti-Semitism strikes a particularly sensitive chord here. France is home to western Europe's largest Jewish community, and its largest Muslim one. Anti-Semitism attacks soared a few years ago, prompting the French government to increase policing around synagogues and other Jewish institutions. And another high profile trial opened last week over the torture and murder of a young Jewish man, Ilan Halimi, in 2006.

Many pundits doubt Dieudonne will be barred from running in the elections, but it is up to the French judiciary to make that decision.

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I wonder how they can block him but not Le Pen?

[luke]

[Kezza]

[faceless]

French comic fined for anti-semitism
– again

French comedian Dieudonné has been ordered to pay €20,000 after a court ruled that inviting a Holocaust denier on stage was a ‘public anti-Semitic insult’. It is the sixth time the 43-year-old comedian – who is due to perform in London next year – has been fined for comments about Jewish people.

Yesterday’s court ruling stemmed from a stand-up show in which Dieudonné invited convicted Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson to receive an award from an actor dressed as a concentration camp victim. Paris judges fined him €10,000 and awarded the same amount in legal costs to the eight groups that sued him.

A spokesman for one of those organisations, SOS Racisme, said: ‘We are quite satisfied with this decision. This shows yet again that Dieudonné M'Bala M'Bala is not a comedian but uses that label to express his hatred. The Cameroun-born comedian has previously stood for the European Parliament as head of the Anti-Zionist Party, formed with far-rightwinger Alain Soral.

His previous fines were:

* €4,500 in 2006 for calling a prominent Jewish TV presenter a ‘secret donor of the child-murdering Israeli army’.
* €5,000 in 2007 for calling the Jews ‘slave traders’.
* €7,000 in 2008 for calling the Holocaust ‘memorial pornography’.
* CA$75,000 in February this year by a Montreal court for defamatory statements with antisemtic undertones against the singer and actor Patrick Bruel.
* €3,000 in March for defaming Jewish journalist Elisabeth Schemla, who had branded him an anti-semite.

Dieudonne is due to appear at London’s Leicester Square Theatre in March – although the show is said to focus on marital violence rather than any political message.

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Anti-Semitic French comedian says he was backed by Iran
Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, who once referred to Holocaust remembrance as 'pornographic,' says Ahmadinejad is funding his 'cultural war against Zionism'
Merav Yudilovitch
29th November 2009
ynetnews.com

An openly anti-Semitic French comedian admitted Saturday that he received funds from Iran in order to wage a war of culture against Zionism. Dieudonné M'bala M'bala told reporters of the meeting held a week ago between himself and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"We received a substantial budget allowing us to make movies on par with Hollywood, which serves as the long arm of Zionist culture," he said at a press conference in Paris. Dieudonné admitted that he intended to produce two films on the subject of slavery and the war in Algiers in order to "show a different point of view on blacks than the one shown by Spielberg".

The 43-year old comedian from Cameroon, who has founded an anti-Zionist political party, has been indicted by French courts for his anti-Semitic outbursts on numerous occasions. On one occasion, he referred to Holocaust remembrance as "pornographic". On another, he was fined 5,000 euros for comparing Jews to slave traders.

AFP reports that the press conference held Saturday was a stiff affair, and that journalists present there had to undergo invasive security checks. Dieudonné told reporters that "Ahmadinejad is better loved in Iran than Sarkozy in France". He commended the Iranian leader for "surviving a media lynch". Dieudonné also called reformist sentiment against the hardline leader and the violent protests that followed his reelection "Zionist propaganda".

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Curiouser and curiouser...