French comedian Dieudonné guilty of racial discrimination, top court confirms
Switzerland’s Federal Court has confirmed the conviction of French comedian Dieudonné for racial discrimination over remarks he made in Switzerland denying the existence of gas chambers in the Holocaust.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/RTS/jc
In a ruling published on Friday, the top Swiss court threw out Dieudonné’s appeal, saying he could not justify the remarks as freedom of expression. “To state that ‘the gas chambers never existed’ is tantamount to denying or grossly minimising the Holocaust,” it said. The remarks therefore fall within the scope of Swiss criminal law which says that anyone who denies, grossly minimises or seeks to justify genocide or other crimes against humanity is punishable.
The initial complaint against Dieudonné was brought by the Coordination against Anti-semitism and Defamation (CICAD) organisation in 2019. He was sentenced in 2021 to a financial penalty of CHF170 ($191) for 180 days (CHF30,600) plus related court costs – a common method of setting financial sanctions in Switzerland. This was confirmed by a Geneva appeals court in May last year, but Dieudonné took it up to the Federal Court.
CICAD lawyer Philippe Grumbach said he was “very satisfied” with the Federal Court verdict. “It is an essential decision that confirms the place of freedom of expression under the law, but also its limits,” he commented.
The comic has a string of convictions for inciting hatred against Jews and is the inventor of the controversial “quenelle” hand gesture. In France and Belgium he has paid tens of thousands of euros in fines for racial slander, defamation and hate speech.
Popular Stories
More
Foreign affairs
What Trump’s return or a new Harris administration would mean for Switzerland
Direct trains to run from Zurich to Florence and Livorno
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Railways and Trenitalia will offer direct trains from Zurich to Florence and Livorno and vice versa from 2026.
Number of Swiss armed forces exceeds specified limit
This content was published on
The Swiss armed forces had an effective headcount of around 147,000 as of March 1, 2024. This exceeds the upper limit of 140,000 specified in the army organisation by 5%.
More than 400,000 cross-border commuters now work in Switzerland
This content was published on
More than half of all cross-border commuters were resident in France (around 57%). Large proportions also lived in Italy (23%) and Germany (around 16%).
Amherd and von der Leyen discuss ongoing Swiss-EU negotiations
This content was published on
Swiss President Viola Amherd and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have met and talked about the ongoing negotiations between Bern and Brussels.
This content was published on
One million francs, 34 million euros and around 830 kilos of gold: this is the fortune that two Swiss nationals are accused of having moved across borders for at least four years.
Girls in female-dominated classes earn more later on
This content was published on
At the age of 30, women from school classes with a 55% share of girls earn $350 more per year than women from classes with a 45% share of girls.
This content was published on
Geneva-based luxury goods group Richemont reported a downturn in performance for the first half of its 2024/25 financial year. Both sales and profit declined.
Swiss court sentences French comedian for anti-semitic sketch
This content was published on
Dieudonné M’bala M’bala was found guilty of using racist content in shows performed in Switzerland, including denying the existence of Nazi gas chambers.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.