“YouTube comedian Mark Meechan has been convicted of grossly offensive behaviour under the Communications Act. Meechan’s crime was filming his girlfriend’s dog raising its paw as he made pro-Nazi comments. Under the YouTube username of ‘Count Dankula’, he posted this joke video on the internet, and it was then viewed over three million times. This week, Airdrie Sheriff Court found Meechan guilty, and he now faces potential imprisonment.
“Talking to the press after the judgement, Meechan said ‘today, context and intent were completely disregarded’. He explained during the trial that he was not a Nazi and that he had posted the video to annoy his girlfriend. Sheriff Derek O’Carroll declared the video ‘anti-Semitic and racist’ in nature. He added that ‘the accused knew that the material was offensive and knew why it was offensive’. The original investigation was launched following zero complaints from the public. Offensiveness apparently depends on the sensitivity of police officers and judges.
“Offensive behaviour is one of the crimes of immorality, such as offence against public morality, action against the state, counter-revolutionary activity and other catch-all terms, that have always been used to suppress dissent (reasonable and unreasonable)…”
Read the full article online on Spiked here: http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/alexander-adams-hate-speech/21240#.WrN2wmrFLIU
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