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Source: Reuters
A Canadian native Indian leader who called Jews a disease was
found not guilty of wilfully promoting hatred, although the judge
said the comments were revolting, disgusting and untrue, the
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
The trial was the second for David Ahenakew, 75, who told a local
newspaper in the western province of Saskatchewan that Jews were a
disease that Hitler was trying to clean up when he fried six
million of those guys.
Saskatchewan provincial court Judge Wilfred Tucker ruled that
prosecutors had not proven that Ahenakew - who made the remarks in
a conversation with a reporter - actively intended to promote
hatred.
"Thank God it's over, and I mean that," the CBC quoted Ahenakew as
telling reporters as he left the courthouse. "It's been
awful."
Ahenakew, the former head of the Assembly of First Nations, was
convicted of hate crimes in 2005 and successfully appealed the
decision in 2006.
He was fined C$1,000 ($1,564) after his initial conviction and
stripped of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian
honor.
During the second trial, Ahenakew told the court that he believed
Jews had caused World War Two.
The Canadian Jewish Congress said in a statement it hoped Ahenakew
"has come to understand the pain he has caused. We urge Mr Ahenakew
to make amends so he can be remembered for healing rather than for
hurting".
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