Swiss-French polemicist Alain Bonnet, known as Alain Soral, has been handed a 60-day prison sentence and substantial fines by a Lausanne court.

The court found Soral guilty of defamation, discrimination, and incitement to hatred. Additionally, he has been ordered to cover legal expenses and pay fines amounting to thousands of Swiss francs.

The charges against Soral stem from an incident that occurred two years ago when he launched a tirade against Catherine Macherel, a journalist working for Swiss newspapers Tribune de Geneve and 24 Heures, in a Facebook video.

During the video, Soral referred to her as a ‘fat lesbian’ and criticized her for being a ‘queer activist,’ as reported by Swiss public broadcaster RTS.

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The ruling has been applauded by LGBTQ+ rights advocates, who view it as a significant moment for justice and LGBTQI rights in Switzerland. Murial Waeger, co-director of the lesbian activist group LOS, stated, “The conviction of Alain Soral is a strong signal that homophobic hatred cannot be tolerated in our society.”

On the other hand, Pascal Junod, a lawyer representing Soral, criticized the verdict as a ‘crime of opinion’ and argued that the case aimed to scrutinize whether an individual had violated the principles of conforming to a singular ideology.

Junod stated that Soral intends to appeal the decision to the Swiss federal court and, if necessary, to the European Court of Human Rights.