Man who filmed dog giving Nazi salute fined £800

Mark Meechan, who is known as ‘Count Dankula’ online, has been fined £800 for a ‘grossly offensive’ video in which he trained his girlfriend’s dog to respond to Nazi slogans.

More than 3 million people have viewed the video online which was originally created by Meechan to “annoy” his girlfriend. However, Airdrie Sheriff Court heard that the video had violated laws against “grossly offensive material” after it was found to be “anti semitic and racist in nature” by the court.

Sheriff Derek O’Carroll said: “He said he chose ‘gas the jews’ as it was the most offensive phrase associated with the Nazi’s that he could think of. It was the centrepiece of the joke. He said it was so extreme that it added to the comedy.”

O’Carroll did not believe Meechan’s defence that claimed it was a private joke saying that Meechan had “not taken any steps to prevent the video being shared publicly”.

The offending video and account remain online despite the charges.