Alain Soral sentenced to 60 days in prison for calling a journalist a “fat lesbian”

2023-10-02 13:19:36

This time, Alain Soral did not escape a prison sentence. The far-right Franco-Swiss essayist was sentenced on appeal to 60 days in prison by a Swiss cantonal court, for homophobic remarks against a journalist, Swiss media reported. If he can still appeal to the federal court, the one who has resided in Lausanne since the end of 2019 had called a journalist from the daily La Tribune de Genève a “fat lesbian”.

Soral, whose real name is Alain Bonnet, was fined for defamation for offensive comments in December 2022, without having to go to prison. The Vaud cantonal prosecutor’s office appealed. He considered that the alleged acts, in addition to the defamation for which he had been convicted, constituted an offense of discrimination and incitement to hatred and as such required a firm custodial sentence of three months.

“A significant step forward in the fight against hatred and intolerance”

During his appeal trial at the end of September in Lausanne, Alain Soral’s lawyer, Me Pascal Junod, once again refuted any homophobia. The cantonal court nevertheless followed the arguments of the prosecution, this time condemning him for discrimination and incitement to hatred for his homophobic remarks.

Several Swiss queer organizations, including the Swiss Lesbian Organization (LOS) and Pink Cross, welcomed his conviction in a joint statement, considering that “this decision represents a significant step forward in the fight against hatred and intolerance”. “This is a strong signal affirming that homophobic hatred cannot be tolerated in our society,” underlined Muriel Waeger, co-director of LOS.

In Switzerland, the criminalization of homophobia only dates back to the beginning of 2020, ratified by a popular vote. This new provision expands existing legislation in the fight against discrimination and calls to racial or religious hatred. She extended it to sexual orientation. Alain Soral (65 years old) had already been convicted around twenty times in France, largely for offenses of provoking hatred, defamation and public insult.