A controversial French comic with past convictions for anti-Semitic commentary and Holocaust denial is heading to North Korea next month.
Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala said his September visit follows increased U.S. military exercises with South Korea. According to AFP, he intends to spend his time in the reclusive kingdom “working for peace.”
“At a time when the United States is organising military exercises on the Korean peninsula, I believe we have to take action,” Dieudonne said, adding that he would take part in a “peace festival” in Pyongyang.
Dieudonne was sentenced to two months in jail by a Belgian court in 2015 for racist and anti-Semitic comments he made during a show in Belgium. As Breitbart London reported, he insisted he is not anti-Semitic and made the remarks in Liege in 2012.
The European Court of Human Rights has also ruled against Dieudonne in a separate case. It judged that freedom of speech did not mean his performances could be racist or anti-Semitic. Dieudonne was at that time appealing against a fine he received from a French court in 2009 for inviting a Holocaust denier on stage.
In March 2015, Dieudonne was found guilty by a French court of condoning terrorismand given a two-month sentence.
Shows performed by Dieudonne in the past have taken aim at the Holocaust, which he claims receives disproportionate attention at the expense of other historical atrocities. He says he uses comedy to highlight what he perceives as the discrepancy. Dieudonne complains the same laws used against him when he jokes about the Holocaust are not used when others — such as Charlie Hebdo — makes jokes about Islam.
To that end, he took to Facebook after the Charlie Hebdo killings and insulted users of the ‘Je suis Charlie’ meme by saying he identified more closely with Islamist terrorist Amedy Coulibaly who killed four at the Paris kosher supermarket than the victims.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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