A court in Switzerland sentenced a writer and commentator to 60 days in prison for calling a reporter a “fat lesbian,” and the decision was praised by LGBTQ+ groups.
On Monday, French-Swiss polemicist Alain Bonnet, represented by Alain Soral, was sentenced by a Lausanne court for the crime of defamation, discrimination and incitement to hatred after he criticized Catherine Macherel, a journalist for the Swiss newspapers Tribune de Geneve and 24 Heures, in a Facebook video. two years ago.
“This court decision is an important moment for justice and the rights of LGBTQI people in Switzerland,” said Murial Waeger, co-director of the lesbian activist group. “Alain Soral’s conviction is a strong signal that homophobic hatred is unacceptable in our society.”
In addition to prison time, Soral was later ordered to pay legal fees and fines totaling thousands of Swiss francs.
Soral’s sentence came after he called Macherel a “fat lesbian”, criticized her work as a “queer activist” and said she was “disaffected” in a social media video, according to Swiss public broadcaster RTS.
Alain Soral was sentenced to sixty days in prison for defamation and discrimination.APS In addition to prison time, Soral was later ordered to pay legal fees and a fine amounting to thousands of Swiss francs.LAURENT GILLIERON/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockCatherine Macherel writes for Tribune de Geneve and 24 Heures.Tribune de Geneva
Pascal Junod, a lawyer for Soral, mocked the conviction for “opinion crimes” in an email to The Associated Press. He said the case aimed to investigate whether someone had “sinned against the dogma of single-mindedness.”
Soral will appeal to the Swiss federal court and “if necessary” to the European Court of Human Rights, his lawyer added.
In 2020, Swiss voters approved a measure that prohibits discriminating against people based on sexual orientation.
This conviction is not the first time Soral has gotten into trouble for his words as he has previously and repeatedly been convicted in France of denying the Holocaust, which is a crime in France. He was sentenced to prison in 2019 for the denial.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
