French comedian fined for anti-Semitic jibe
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French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala was fined 22,500 euros ($24,000) on Thursday for a jibe against a radio journalist in 2013 suggesting that hearing the broadcaster speak made him think of Nazi gas chambers.
Creator of the controversial "quenelle" gesture that went viral on social media two years ago, Dieudonne this week already received a suspended jail sentence for condoning terrorism with a joke about January's Islamist attacks on a satirical magazine and a Jewish foodstore in Paris that killed 17.
In this latest case, he risked up to one year in prison and a 45,000 euro fine for incitement to racial hatred.
The provocative humor in his shows has long put Dieudonne at the center of a fierce debate about freedom of expression.
When Radio France's Patrick Cohen asked on air in 2013 whether media should pay so much attention to Dieudonne, he retorted that the journalist should consider emigrating.
