European Court of Human Rights Rules Negationist and Anti-Semitic Performances Not Protected (November 10, 2015) [1]
On November 10, 2015, the European Court of Human rights ruled [3] in M’Bala M’Bala v. France (judgment only available in French) that Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights [4] (Convention) does not protect negationist and anti-Semitic performances. According to the press release [5], Mr. M’Bala M’Bala put on a performance which included the participation of a man convicted for his “negationist and revisionist opinions, mainly his denial of the existence of gas chambers in concentration camps,” wearing a costume “reminiscent of the clothing worn by Jewish deportees.” The Court “had no doubt about the highly anti-Semitic content of the offending part” and noted “that during the offending scene the performance could no longer be seen as entertainment but had taken on the appearance of a political meeting.” Therefore, the performance, “even if satirical or provocative,” was not protected by Article 10 of the Convention. The Court found that Mr. M’Bala M’Bala “had sought to deflect Article 10 from its real purpose by using his right to freedom of expression for ends which were incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Convention and which, if admitted, would contribute to the destruction of Convention rights and freedoms.”