A Superior Court judge will deliberate before deciding what penalty a Quebec man should face after being found in contempt of court for failing to remove swastikas from outside his home.
Anthony Delisle, a lawyer representing the municipality of St-Barnabé-Sud, argued that Yahia Meddah should be fined a total of $14,000 and possibly face jail time to ensure court orders for removal of the Nazi symbols are respected.
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Delisle says the court’s sanction needs to end once and for all the battle between Meddah and the municipality of about 1,000 people northeast of Montreal.
Richard Beaulieu, a lawyer for Meddah, argued that a $2,000 fine or community service would be sufficient given it is a first offence.
Justice Chantal Lamarche found Meddah guilty of two counts of contempt of court in March for failing to abide by a November court order that ordered him to remove swastikas and other signs from around his home that compare the municipality to the Nazi regime, as well as taking down a website that calls St-Barnabé-Sud “the most racist city in the world.”
The signs went up after a dispute last June with city inspectors over problems with his property.
Lamarche heard sentencing arguments Thursday in St-Hyacinthe, Que., telling lawyers she will render a written decision at a later date.
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