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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: March 12, 2006 |
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A Paris court fined an outspoken French comic Friday US$5,960 for inciting racial hatred with comments comparing Jews to slave traders.
Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala, who wants to run for president next year, has faced several legal challenges for his sketches, which often draw as much criticism as laughter.
This case stemmed from an interview in February 2004 with the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, in which the comic, known commonly in France by his first name, criticized people who insult him during his shows. "Those who attack me founded their empires and fortunes on the trade in blacks and slavery," he said.
The Paris court accused him of attacking Jews "under cover of stigmatizing his detractors." In addition to the fine, the court ordered Dieudonne to pay a symbolic one euro (US$1.19) in damages to five Jewish and anti-racism groups.
In September, an appeals court cleared Dieudonne of charges of making anti-Semitic slurs during a sketch in which he dressed as an Orthodox Jew and raised a Nazi-style salute. The court upheld a lower court's ruling that the imitation was not a blanket representation of Jews.
The current case comes renewed concerns about anti-Semitism in France following the brutal kidnapping and killing of a young Jewish man, and recent attacks outside a suburban Paris synagogue.
Dieudonne announced in January that he wants to run for president next year, saying he wanted to do away with taboos and resist the extreme right. |
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