Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mark Meechan believed his sentence set a "really, really dangerous precedent"

A man who filmed a pet dog giving Nazi salutes before putting the footage on YouTube has been fined £800.

Mark Meechan, 30, recorded his girlfriend's pug, Buddha, responding to statements such as "Sieg Heil" by raising its paw.

The clip was viewed more than three million times on YouTube.

Meechan, of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, was sentenced at Airdrie Sheriff Court after being found guilty of committing a hate crime last month.

He had denied any wrong-doing and insisted he made the video, which was posted in April 2016, to annoy his girlfriend.

But Sheriff Derek O'Carroll found him guilty of a charge under the Communications Act that he posted a video on social media and YouTube which was grossly offensive because it was "anti-Semitic and racist in nature" and was aggravated by religious prejudice.

Image copyright Press Team Image caption Meechan with his girlfriend's pug, Buddha

Fining Meechan £800, the sheriff told him: "The centrepiece of your video consists of you repeating the phrase 'Gas the Jews' over and over again as a command to a dog which then reacts.

"You use the command Sieg Heil, having trained the dog to raise its paw in response and the video shows a clip of a Nuremberg rally and a flashing image of Hitler with strident music. You say the video was only intended as a joke to upset your girlfriend, whose dog you used, and nothing more.

"On the whole evidence..I found it proved that the video you posted, using a public communications network, was grossly offensive and contained menacing, anti-Semitic and racist material."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption WATCH: 'Nazi pug' video-maker has no regrets

He added: "The fact that you claim in the video, and elsewhere, that the video was intended only to annoy your girlfriend and as a joke and that you did not intend to be racist is of little assistance to you.

"A joke can be grossly offensive. A racist joke or a grossly offensive video does not lose its racist or grossly offensive quality merely because the maker asserts he only wanted to get a laugh."

Meechan was supported in court by by Tommy Robinson, former leader of far-right group the English Defence League (EDL).

Speaking after being fined, Meechan - who posts under the name Count Dankula - said he would be appealing the sentence.

Image copyright PA Image caption Meechan waved to supporters as he emerged from court

Image caption Supporters staged a free speech protest outside court

He defended the video, saying the whole point of the "joke" was "the juxtaposition of having an adorable animal reacting to something vulgar".

Meechan said: "This is a really dangerous precedent to set - for people to say things and their context to be completely ignored and then they can be convicted for it.

"You don't get to decide the context, other people don't get to decide the context, the court decides. That's dangerous."

Image copyright PA Image caption Tommy Robinson, former leader of far-right group the English Defence League, supported Meechan in court

There was a demonstration outside court by protesters claiming the case went against the principle of freedom of speech.

Comedian Ricky Gervais had taken to Twitter to comment on the case after guilty the verdict.

He tweeted: "A man has been convicted in a UK court of making a joke that was deemed 'grossly offensive'.

"If you don't believe in a person's right to say things that you might find 'grossly offensive', then you don't believe in Freedom of Speech."

Image copyright PA

Andrew Black, BBC Scotland Reporter, at Airdrie Sheriff Court

Even before Mark Meechan arrived for his sentence, dozens of free speech campaigners were outside the building, protesting his innocence.

Also present was Tommy Robinson, ex-leader of the far-right English Defence League.

Inside, courtroom number two was packed out as members of the public and journalists sat poised to hear Sheriff Derek O'Carroll impose sentence.

Meechan's lawyer told the court his client was a man who enjoyed "shock humour" and questioned why he was in the dock, given the number of famous comedians who incorporate lines about the holocaust into their acts.

Sheriff O'Carroll told Meechan he'd made a deliberate decision to post offensive material in a place where any member of the public could see it.

At the same time, the sheriff said he was a first-offender with a low risk of committing further crime - and that he'd learned from his experience.

Afterwards Meechan emerged from court defiant - insisting all he'd done was exercise his right to free speech.

He left vowing to appeal.</s>A YouTuber who taught his girlfriend's dog to perform a Nazi salute and posted a video of it online has been fined £800.

Mark Meechan repeatedly asks the pug if it wants to "gas the Jews" in the video, titled M8 Yer Dugs a Nazi.

It then raises a paw in an imitation of a Nazi salute when Meechan says the words "sieg heil".

The video was watched more than three million times and the 30-year-old was arrested in April 2016.

Meechan, of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, claimed the video was made to annoy his girlfriend and denied any wrongdoing.

But during a hearing at Airdrie Sheriff Court last month sheriff Derek O'Carroll described the video as "threatening and grossly offensive" and "anti-semitic".

He said Meechan, also known by the username Count Dankula, had "not taken any steps to prevent the video being shared publicly".

Dozens of people turned up at Airdrie Sheriff Court on Monday to protest against Meechan's conviction, including English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson.

Download: The STV News app is Scotland's favourite and is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from Google Play. Download it today and continue to enjoy STV News wherever you are.</s>Mark Meechan, 30, recorded his partner's pug responding to statements such as "gas the Jews" and "sieg heil" by raising its paw before posting the footage on YouTube in April 2016. Celebrities including Ricky Gervais tweeted in support of Meechan when he was found guilty, defending right to free speech. He was convicted of posting material that was "grossly offensive" and "anti-Semitic and racist in nature" in breach of the Communications Act, in an offence aggravated by religious prejudice, following a trial at Airdrie Sheriff Court. Meechan had claimed he made the video as a joke to annoy his partner and raised issues about freedom of speech. Speaking outside the court, he said that the decision sets a dangerous precedent.

“You don't get to decide the context of what you said, other people don't get to, the court gets to, that's dangerous” Dozens of supporters of Meechan, including former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson, were at Airdrie Sheriff Court for the court hearing on Monday. Sentencing Meechan, Sheriff Derek O'Carroll said the video was grossly offensive and that his girlfriend did not even subscribe to the video channel he posted it on. He said: "The centrepiece of your video consists of you repeating the phrase 'gas the Jews' over and over again as a command to a dog, which then reacts. "Sometimes the phrase is 'You want to gas the Jews'. You recite 'gas the Jews' in a variety of dramatic ways. 'Gas the Jews' in one form or another is repeated by you 23 times within a few minutes. "You use the command 'sieg heil', having trained the dog to raise its paw in response and the video shows a clip of a Nuremberg rally and a flashing image of Hitler with strident music.

"You say the video was only intended as a joke to upset your girlfriend, whose dog you used, and nothing more. "On the whole evidence, including your own, applying the law as made by Parliament and interpreted by the most senior courts in this land, I found it proved that the video you posted, using a public communications network, was grossly offensive and contained menacing, anti-Semitic and racist material. "You deliberately chose the Holocaust as the theme of the video. You purposely used the command 'gas the Jews' as the centrepiece of what you called the entire joke, surrounding the 'gas the Jews' centrepiece with Nazi imagery and the seig heil command so there could be no doubt what historical events you were referring to." He added that while the right to freedom of expression is very important, "in all modern democratic countries the law necessarily places some limits on that right". Meechan's defence agent Ross Brown said his client was a "tolerant and liberal" man.

He said: "His difficulty, it seems, was that he was someone who enjoyed shock humour, both giving and receiving it, and went about his life under the impression that he lived in a jurisdiction which permitted its citizens the right to freely express themselves." He said his client was concerned about the impact his conviction may have on comedians such as John Cleese, Frankie Boyle and Ricky Gervais if they were to come to Scotland due to the material referenced in some of their acts. Speaking outside court after sentencing, Meechan said: "I'm going to appeal against it. He says it doesn't set a precedent, it does set a precedent, a really, really dangerous precedent has been set for people to say things, their context to be completely ignored and then they can be convicted for it. "You don't get to decide the context of what you said, other people don't get to, the court gets to, that's dangerous." The 30-year-old said of the video: "It's the juxtaposition of having an adorable animal react to something vulgar, that was the entire point of the joke."</s>A Coatbridge man who filmed his girlfriend's pet dog doing a Nazi salute has been fined £800.

Mark Meechan was sentenced at Airdrie Sheriff Court after he was found guilty last month of a hate crime.

He recorded his girlfriend's pug, Buddha, responding to statements such as 'gas the Jews' and 'Sieg Heil' by raising its paw during the footage called "M8 Yur Dug's a Nazi".

But after complaints about the content, police were called in and he was arrested for allegedly committing a hate crime by uploading the footage on to the popular video sharing website in April 2016.

The original clip had been viewed more than three million times on YouTube. He insisted he made the video to annoy his girlfriend Suzanne Kelly, 29.

Former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson attended court in support of Meechan earlier today.

Robinson, real name Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, said the case was a "huge free speech issue."

Since Meechan, also known as Count Dankula, was convicted hundreds of people have hit out at the verdict including some well-known comedians.

Comedian Ricky Gervais took to social media to comment on the case after the verdict.

He said: "A man has been convicted in a UK court of making a joke that was deemed 'grossly offensive'.

"If you don't believe in a person's right to say things that you might find 'grossly offensive', then you don't believe in Freedom of Speech."

Jewish comedian David Baddiel has also backed the Coatbridge man who taught his pet pug to do a Nazi salute in response to the phrases “Gas the Jews” and “Sieg Heil”.

In a YouTube post, he said: "I'm here outside Airdrie Sheriff Court where earlier this week YouTube comedian Marcus Meechan, otherwise known as Count Dankula, was convicted of making a grossly offensive video.

"In the video he taught his girlfriend's pug dog to do a Nazi salute whilst he repeated the phrase 'gas the Jews'.

"Count Dankula is due to be sentenced in April."

Tom then stops as if the broadcast news segment has ended.

Still in character as reporter Johnathan, he rants about the case as if speaking his personal opinions to cameraman, 'Tim', after filming.

He jibes: "Right Tim I want to talk about this all. Right so some people found this offensive - understandable.

"Some people found it funny, the video got shared three million times on YouTube with lots of inane comments like 'lol' underneath so clearly some people found it funny.

He then turns to the court and exclaims, "Either way, it was a f*****g joke you c***s."

Tom then goes on to voice his concern over the eventual outcome of the trial.

"He might go to prison, okay?" he blurts.

"He was convicted because the judge believed he was inciting racial hatred - it's a f*****g pug dog, he was mocking Nazis.



 "I'll tell you where else in history you'd be convicted of a crime for teaching your dog to mock Nazis - Nazi f*****g Germany."

Towards the end of the clip the comedian smirks: "The f*****g EDL isn't watching the video of a Nazi pug dog going 'yea that portrayed us in a good light'.

"Show me one neo-Nazi who is using that YouTube clip as a recruiting tool. It's a pug mimicking their glorious leader.

"So yes, it is offensive – if you're a f*****g Nazi."</s>A Scottish video blogger taught his girlfriend’s dog how to do the Nazi salute, then posted a video of the act on YouTube. On Monday, a judge fined him $1,200 for committing a hate crime.

Mark Meechan, 30, was hardly contrite. He vowed to appeal the fine and “keep fighting the good fight.”

“There has been a huge miscarriage of justice,” Meechan said after he was convicted last month. “I think it is a very, very dark day in terms of freedom of speech and freedom of expression.”

Meechan videotaped his girlfriend’s pug, Buddha, raising his paw whenever he hears the phrase “Sieg Heil” while watching a speech by Adolf Hitler. Meechan also repeated the phrase several times and said “gas the Jews” on the tape.

The 2-year-old video has been viewed more than 3 million times and was still available online as of Monday.

Meechan insisted that he taught the trick to the dog to annoy his girlfriend and apologized on YouTube soon after he posted the clip.

Sheriff Derek O’Carroll, the judge in the case at Scotland’s Airdrie Sheriff Court, said the video was “grossly offensive” and contained “menacing” anti-Semitic and racist messages.

A “racist joke or a grossly offensive video does not lose its racist or grossly offensive quality merely because the maker asserts he only wanted to get a laugh,” O’Carroll said.

Meechan, who is known on YouTube as Count Dankula, said that what he did was acceptable because he “put it in context.” His intent was to juxtapose a cute pug with the “least cute thing I could think of — which is a Nazi.”

Tommy Robinson, former leader of the controversial far-right English Defence League, was among a group of protesters who defended Meechan when his fine was imposed. Robinson posted an interview with Meechan on YouTube after the conviction.

A man has been convicted in a UK court of making a joke that was deemed "grossly offensive". If you don't believe in a person's right to say things that you might find "grossly offensive", then you don't believe in Freedom of Speech. — Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) March 20, 2018</s>A man who filmed a pet dog giving Nazi salutes before putting the footage on YouTube has been fined £800.

Mark Meechan, 30, recorded his girlfriend's pug, Buddha, responding to statements such as "Sieg Heil" by raising its paw.

The clip was viewed more than three million times on YouTube.

Meechan, of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, was sentenced at Airdrie Sheriff Court after being found guilty of committing a hate crime last month.

He had denied any wrong-doing and insisted he made the video, which was posted in April 2016, to annoy his girlfriend.

But Sheriff Derek O'Carroll found him guilty of a charge under the Communications Act that he posted a video on social media and YouTube which was grossly offensive because it was "anti-Semitic and racist in nature" and was aggravated by religious prejudice.

Fining Meechan £800, the sheriff told him: "The centrepiece of your video consists of you repeating the phrase 'Gas the Jews' over and over again as a command to a dog which then reacts.

"You use the command Sieg Heil, having trained the dog to raise its paw in response and the video shows a clip of a Nuremberg rally and a flashing image of Hitler with strident music. You say the video was only intended as a joke to upset your girlfriend, whose dog you used, and nothing more.

"On the whole evidence, including your own, applying the law as made by Parliament and interpreted by the most senior courts in this land, I found it proved that the video you posted, using a public communications network, was grossly offensive and contained menacing, anti-Semitic and racist material."

He added: "You accepted that the phrase 'Gas the Jews' was anti-Semitic though not, you said, when used as part of a joke. You said you used the phrase 'Gas the Jews' because it was so extreme.

"You said the video content was horrific, but not when used as a joke. You intended the video to be as offensive as you could make it and you posted it on your own unrestricted publicly accessible video channel which on your own description "provides offensive social comedy and skits that get people thrown in prison".

"The evidence before this court was that the video was viewed as grossly offensive within Jewish communities in Scotland and that such material tended to normalise anti-Semitic attitudes and provoke further unpleasant anti-Semitic messages and as such, this video using menacing language, led to great concern.

"The fact that you claim in the video, and elsewhere, that the video was intended only to annoy your girlfriend and as a joke and that you did not intend to be racist is of little assistance to you.

"A joke can be grossly offensive. A racist joke or a grossly offensive video does not lose its racist or grossly offensive quality merely because the maker asserts he only wanted to get a laugh."

Meechan was supported in court by by Tommy Robinson, former leader of far-right group the English Defence League (EDL).

Speaking after being fined, Meechan said he would be appealing the sentence.

He defended the video, saying the whole point of the "joke" was "the juxtaposition of having an adorable animal reacting to something vulgar".

Meechan said: "This is a really dangerous precedent to set - for people to say things and their context to be completely ignored and then they can be convicted for it.

"You don't get to decide the context, other people don't get to decide the context, the court decides. That's dangerous."

There was a small demonstration outside court by protesters claiming the case went against the principle of freedom of speech.

Comedian Ricky Gervais had taken to Twitter to comment on the case after guilty the verdict.

He tweeted: "A man has been convicted in a UK court of making a joke that was deemed 'grossly offensive'.

"If you don't believe in a person's right to say things that you might find 'grossly offensive', then you don't believe in Freedom of Speech."</s>A man who was convicted of a hate crime after he filmed a pet dog giving Nazi salutes and put the footage on YouTube has been given a £800 fine.

Mark Meechan was sentenced after a landmark ruling found him guilty of posting a video which was 'grossly offensive'.

The 30-year-old taught his girlfriend's pug to react to the words 'gas the Jews' and filmed it for his YouTube channel last year.

The pug, named Buddha, was also seen raising a paw to fascist chant 'Sieg Heil' during the footage called 'M8 Yur Dug's a Nazi'.

The stunt provoked outrage after being posted on YouTube where it has more than three million views.

Meechan has been given six months to pay the fine.

He was sentenced by Sheriff Derek O'Carroll at Airdrie Sheriff Court today.

Meechan, of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, denied any wrongdoing insisting he had made the video to annoy his girlfriend Suzanne Kelly, 29.

But he was found guilty under the Communications Act of posting a video which was grossly offensive because it was 'anti-Semitic and racist' and aggravated by religious prejudice.

Speaking outside court, where he was cheered by around 100 supporters including far right activist Tommy Robinson, Meechan said: 'I'm not going to pay the fine because we are going to appeal.

'This sets a very dangerous precedent because the court is deciding what people can say.'

Last month, Ricky Gervais took to Twitter to throw his support behind Meechan after he was found guilty.

Gervais took a strong stance against the verdict, tweeting: 'A man has been convicted in a UK court of making a joke that was deemed ''grossly offensive''.

'If you don't believe in a person's right to say things that you might find ''grossly offensive'', then you don't believe in Freedom of Speech.

'I f***ing hate religion. I've criticised and ridiculed it for 40 years.

'Yet if my government tried to ban it or criminalise it, I would march alongside those poor fools and fight hard for their right to believe any f***ing stupid nonsense they chose.'

Ross Brown, defending, said: 'This court made Mark Meechan a criminal. Up until this point he was a man who had no involvement with the law.

'He considered himself a liberal man. To be branded a criminal is a punishment.

'The difficulty it seems is that he was someone who enjoyed shock humour, both giving receiving it, and went about his life under the impression that he lived in a jurisdiction which gave him the right to fully express himself.

'This was not the perception Police Scotland had on receiving a notice that the video had been posted online.'

He added: 'Mark Meechan does not want to go to jail but is prepared to do so so he remains true to his belief that freedom of expression is at the very core of our democracy.'

Prosecutors had earlier asked for Meechan to be convicted and branded the video 'an odious criminal act that was dressed up to look like a joke.'

The depute fiscal added: 'He is a highly intelligent and articulate individual, we are not dealing with some callow youth who is inexperienced with what is going on in the world.

'The Crown contention is that the inclusion of the dog is an attempt to muddy the waters around him making, producing and posting the video.

'He says that he knows the context of the video but in a criminal court in Scotland he does not decide the context of anything, the court decides the context.'

In the video the dog is seen perking up when it hears the statements and appears to lift its paw to the 'Sieg Heil' command in the video and is also filmed watching a rally led by Hitler at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

Sheriff O'Carroll had earlier told the court he did not believe Meechan had made the video only to annoy his girlfriend and ruled it was anti-Semitic.

Fining Meechan, he said: 'You deliberately chose the Holocaust as the theme of the video.

'I also found it proved that the video contained anti-Semitic, and racist material, in that it explicitly and exclusively referred to Jews, the Holocaust and the role of the Nazis in the death of six million Jews in a grossly offensive manner. You knew or must have known that.

'The social work report on you is important. It is very favourable to you and, leaving aside the circumstances of this offence, shows you to have led a generally pro-social life thus far.

'It also shows that you have learned a certain amount from your experiences and that you are of low risk of reoffending.

'In these circumstances, I rule out a custodial sentence and therefore any alternative to a custodial sentence. You have a certain amount of income and other resources according to the reports. I now fine you the sum of £800.'</s>LONDON (AP) - A Scottish man who filmed a dog appearing to give Nazi salutes was fined 800 pounds ($1,200) on Monday after being convicted of a hate crime, in a case that has sparked a debate about the limits of free speech.

Mark Meechan filmed his girlfriend's pug responding to phrases such as "sieg heil" by raising its paw and posted the footage on YouTube in 2016.

Meechan - a comedian and video blogger who uses the name Count Dankula - said the stunt was meant as a joke, but he was convicted last month of posting "grossly offensive" material.

Mark Meechan gestures as he leaves Airdrie Sheriff Court in Scotland where he appeared for sentencing after he was found guilty of an offence under the Communications Act for posting a video of a dog giving Nazi salutes, Monday April 23, 2018. Meechan said the stunt was meant as a joke, but he was convicted last month of posting "grossly offensive" material. On Monday a judge ordered Meechan to pay an 800 pound ($1,200) fine. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

A judge at Scotland's Airdrie Sheriff Court imposed the 800-pound fine Monday. Sheriff Derek O'Carroll said the video "contained menacing, anti-Semitic and racist material." The dog was filmed responding to "Gas the Jews," a phrase repeated 23 times in the video, O'Carroll said.

The judge said that while the right to freedom of expression is very important, "in all modern democratic countries the law necessarily places some limits on that right."

Outside court, Meechan, 30, said his conviction set a "really dangerous precedent" for free speech and he would appeal. His conviction drew expressions of concern from comedians such as Ricky Gervais. Several far-right commentators also championed Meechan's position.

Meechan, who described the contents of his YouTube channel as "offensive social commentary in an accent you won't understand," said Scottish authorities have ignored the context of the dog video.

"It's the juxtaposition of having an adorable animal react to something vulgar that was the entire point of the joke," he said.

Mark Meechan laughs as he leaves Airdrie Sheriff Court in Scotland where he appeared for sentencing after he was found guilty of an offence under the Communications Act for posting a video of a dog giving Nazi salutes, Monday April 23, 2018. Meechan said the stunt was meant as a joke, but he was convicted last month of posting "grossly offensive" material. On Monday a judge ordered Meechan to pay an 800 pound ($1,200) fine. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)</s>LONDON — A Scottish man who filmed a dog appearing to give Nazi salutes was fined 800 pounds ($1,200) on Monday after being convicted of a hate crime, in a case that has sparked a debate about the limits of free speech.

Mark Meechan filmed his girlfriend’s pug responding to phrases such as “sieg heil” by raising its paw and posted the footage on YouTube in 2016.

Meechan — a comedian and video blogger who uses the name Count Dankula — said the stunt was meant as a joke, but he was convicted last month of posting “grossly offensive” material.

A judge at Scotland’s Airdrie Sheriff Court imposed the 800-pound fine Monday. Sheriff Derek O’Carroll said the video “contained menacing, anti-Semitic and racist material.” The dog was filmed responding to the phrase “gas the Jews,” which was repeated 23 times in the video, O’Carroll said.

The judge said that while the right to freedom of expression is very important, “in all modern democratic countries the law necessarily places some limits on that right.”

Outside court, Meechan, 30, said his conviction set a “really dangerous precedent” for free speech and he would appeal. His conviction drew expressions of concern from comedians such as Ricky Gervais. Several far-right commentators also championed Meechan’s position.

Meechan, who described the contents of his YouTube channel as “offensive social commentary in an accent you won’t understand,” said Scottish authorities have ignored the context of the dog video.

“It’s the juxtaposition of having an adorable animal react to something vulgar that was the entire point of the joke,” he said.</s>A YouTuber who filmed a pet dog giving a Nazi salute while he said offensive statements such as ‘Sieg Heil’ and ‘Gas the Jews’ has been fined £800.

Mark Meechan, 30 – also known as ‘Count Dankula’ – was convicted of sending ‘grossly offensive’ messages in what was seen as a landmark ruling.

The 30-year-old has become a cause celebre for ‘free speech’ advocates, and has appeared on right-wing conspiracy site Infowars, and with English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson.

The stunt was posted YouTube where it garnered more than three million views.

Meechan, of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, denied any wrongdoing insisting he had made the video to annoy his girlfriend Suzanne Kelly, 29.

But he was found guilty under the Communications Act of posting a video which was grossly offensive because it was ‘anti-Semitic and racist’ and aggravated by religious prejudice.

Reporters swarmed me, wouldnt let me pass. One guy shoves a mic in my face and says "Why is it funny to gas the Jews?" They must teach sneaky questions like that on journalism courses. Then as we are trying to get past, one of the cameramen on purpose tries to trip up Sue.

Meechan, of Coatbridge, denied any wrongdoing but was convicted at the same court last month of committing a crime under the Communications Act which was aggravated by religious prejudice.
Scottish YouTuber Mark "Count Dankula" Meechan is fined £800 for a racially aggravated offence under the Communications Act for a video of a pug dog responding to Nazi slogans. Protests are held outside Airdrie Sheriff Court and English Defence League ex-leader Tommy Robinson sits in court to support Meechan.