French comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, who was last year sentenced to two months in prison by a Belgian court for “inciting hatred” during a performance, claims he’s been held at Hong Kong airport.
He was due to perform shows in the city on Thursday and Friday, but was detained by immigration authorities along with his two sons on arrival at Hong Kong International Airport early Thursday.
Photos on his official Facebook account showed what appeared to be refusal notice issued by the city’s Immigration department, together with photos of immigration officials and a man with a bandaged arm. The post also claims one of his sons had recently undergone surgery and was in a “delicate situation.”
The post went on to claim they’d been held for 14 hours and Dieudonné’s son was being denied access to a doctor.
Immigration authorities declined to comment when contacted by CNN.
His detention follows warnings by the French and Israeli consulates in the city about the performer, known for his homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic material, who holds a string of convictions in France.
A representative for M’bala M’bala told the South China Morning Post that the situation was “uncomfortable,” as the comic had been detained along with a number of unspecified individuals since arriving at 7.30 a.m. Thursday.
CNN was trying to contact the French Consulate for comment.
Call for a ban
In 2014, the French government said it wanted to ban Dieudonné’s live performances, while the British government banned him from the UK, amid a storm over a hand gesture popularized by the comic.
Critics hold that the “quenelle” — which involves pointing the right arm straight down and touching it with the left hand — is a modified Nazi salute; Dieudonne countered that it is anti-establishment but not anti-Semitic.
Last year, Dieudonne was given a suspended sentence by a French court for “condoning terrorism” over comments that suggested he sympathized with the attackers in the Charlie Hebdo attacks.