Jewish groups celebrate as Quebec man sentenced to 15 months for fomenting hatred

A Quebec man convicted of promoting hatred against Jews has been sentenced to 15 months in jail and three years of probation.

A Quebec man convicted of promoting hatred against Jews has been sentenced to 15 months in jail and three years of probation, in what Jewish groups are calling a major victory in the battle against antisemitism and online hate.

Gabriel Sohier Chaput represents a continued risk to society because he hasn't grasped the seriousness of his "highly reprehensible actions" or the harm they caused, Quebec court Judge Manlio Del Negro told a Montreal courtroom Friday.

"Unfortunately, the years that have passed since the infraction was committed don't appear to have shaken his radicalized convictions," Del Negro said.

"The delinquent expresses neither regret nor empathetic thoughts regarding his victims for his criminal act."

Sohier Chaput was found guilty in January, after the judge ruled that a 2017 article published on the neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer actively promoted hatred of Jewish people. The accused wrote more than 800 articles for the online publication named after the Nazi-era propaganda newspaper Der Sturmer.

Both the prosecution and the defence had recommended a three-month sentence followed by probation. But Del Negro flatly rejected that proposal, which he described as "unhinged," and instead imposed a sentence much closer to the two-year maximum.

A light sentence, he argued, would be contrary to the public interest and would likely give an "informed and reasonable" person reason to question the justice system.