A SCOTTISH YouTube user who was convicted of a hate crime after he trained his girlfriend’s dog to perform Nazi salutes has had an appeal rejected by the Supreme Court.
He is now considering taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Mark Meechan, 32, who uses name Count Dankula, was prosecuted after teaching the dog, a pug named Buddha, to perform the gesture.
Meechan, from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, was convicted after a trial at Airdrie Sheriff Court of a hate crime in communicating a video which was “grossly offensive”.
He had pleaded not guilty. In April 2018 he was fined £800 and told to pay it within six months, which Meechan publicly stated he would refuse to do.
Meechan taught his girlfriend’s pug to react to the words “gas the Jews” and filmed it for his YouTube channel in 2016, supposedly to annoy his girlfriend.
The pug was also seen raising a paw in response to the words “Sieg Heil” during the footage called “M8 Yur Dug’s a Nazi” which was viewed more than three million times.
READ MORE: Ukip leader to invite 'Count Dankula' to stand for Holyrood
The case sparked a debate around freedom of speech, with comedians such as Ricky Gervais speaking out on Meechan’s behalf. Far-right leader Tommy Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – attended the trial in support of Meechan.
Some £195,657 was raised on a GoFundMe page to take the appeal to the Supreme Court, which it has now rejected, saying it had “no merit”, according to Meechan.
In a posting about the petition, the YouTuber wrote: “We have one final option, the European Court of Human Rights.
“This process would again be very time and fund-consuming and at this point we are only considering going down this path, as in my personal view from freedom of speech cases I have seen handled by the ECHR in the past, they do not have the best track record.
We are currently seeking advice from an expert on the ECHR to see whether or not this route would be worth our time. I do not wish to invest a lot of time and money into what could turn out to be another very expensive ‘no’ with, again, no proper explanation given, when the funds used for it could have instead gone to a charity to help those in need.
“One hundred per cent of the funds that are left over after legal fees have been paid will be donated to charity, I refuse to shift on that stance.
“Once we have had legal counsel from the expert on the ECHR I will provide further updates, but please know, this could possibly be the end of the road.”
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