Dieudonné cancels video performance for Montrealers
Controversial French comic reportedly refused entry to Canada at Trudeau airport
A controversial French comedian convicted of hate speech has cancelled his planned performance for Montrealers via video at a hotel conference room after he was reportedly barred from entering Canada.
Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, who goes by the stage name Dieudonné, was scheduled to perform 10 shows in Montreal starting Wednesday night.
But the comic, who has made headlines for publicly denying the Holocaust and making jokes about gas chambers, was reportedly barred from entering Canada at Montreal's Trudeau airport Tuesday.
Passengers on Dieudonné's flight said he was met by two border agents when the plane landed in Montreal.
His promoters in Montreal say they rented a hall in a Montreal hotel for ticket-holders to see him perform from France.
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Earlier on Tuesday, Dieudonné was found guilty of violating hate speech laws in France and handed a €10,000 (about $14,700 Cdn) fine and a two-month suspended jail sentence.
The conviction is related to a show where he dressed up to resemble a detainee from Guantanamo Bay, mocked the Holocaust and suggested Jews were active in the slave trade.
Dieudonné has been convicted and fined numerous times for violating hate speech laws in Europe.
The Canada Border Services Agency has some discretion in admitting people to the country with criminal records.
The agency won't comment on specific cases.
His planned appearances in Montreal have been the subject of controversy for weeks, with Mayor Denis Coderre declaring Dieudonné isn't welcome in the city.
With files from La Presse Canadienne