SCOTLAND’S highest courts of justice could be set to decide the appeal against conviction by a comedian who was fined after teaching a dog to do a Nazi salute.
Mark Meechan, otherwise known as Count Dankula, had set a crowdfunding target of £100,000 to pay for his appeal.
The target was reached just after 5pm last night with around 4300 people having pledged their cash.
A legal expert told The National: “With that amount of cash behind him, he can afford to pay for the very best advocates and take this all the way to the highest courts in the land.”
Meechan, 30, from Coatbridge, shared a video online in 2016 of his girlfriend’s pug Buddha that he had trained to raise its paw in response to repeated statements of “gas the Jews” and “Sieg Heil”.
He was fined £800 earlier this month after being convicted of committing a hate-crime at Airdrie Sheriff Court.
Meechan immediately claimed that he would challenge the verdict saying he was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
The crowdfunding appeal page, set up by Meechan and featuring an image of him and a pug, states: “This conviction will be used as an example to convict other people over the things they say and the jokes they make, it sets a standard where courts will be able to willfully [sic] ignore the context and intent of a persons words and actions in order to punish them and brand them as criminals.
“This is the amount that has been quoted by my lawyer, the reason it has been quoted so high is my lawyer wishes to bring in top legal representatives to ensure that we have the highest chance of reversing the standard that this case sets.
“I cannot allow the two years of litigation I went through and having my life put on hold, to happen to anyone else.
“I will be 100 per cent transparent with these funds, all bills in regards to the case will be made publicly available.”
He was found guilty of breaching the Communications Act by posting material that was “grossly offensive” and “anti-Semitic and racist in nature”, in an offence aggravated by religious prejudice, following a trial at Airdrie Sheriff Court.
Dozens of supporters were at the court on Monday, including former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson.
Meechan put the clip on YouTube in April 2016.
He said he made the video as a joke to annoy his partner and has raised issues about freedom of speech.
“It’s the juxtaposition of having an adorable animal react to something vulgar, that was the entire point of the joke,” he said.
Sentencing Meechan, Sheriff Derek O’Carroll 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”.
Ross Brown, Meechan’s defence agent, had said his client was a “tolerant and liberal” man who “enjoyed shock humour, both giving and receiving it”.
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.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel