Irishman gets suspended sentence over antisemitic threats to Australian couple in Avignon
An Avignon court gave Patrick O'Brien, 60, an Irish man living in France, a six-month suspended sentence for antisemitic death threats and justifying crimes against humanity. Victims' representatives called the punishment too lenient.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 2An Avignon court gave Patrick O'Brien, 60, an Irishman originally from Dublin who lives in France, a six-month suspended prison sentence for threatening a Jewish woman in August. Daily MailR “Patrick O'Brien, 60 and originally from Dublin, caused shock and outrage after he was filmed confronting a couple in a hypermarket in Avignon in August.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ JNSR “An Irish man was handed a suspended sentence of six months in prison” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 2He was filmed confronting an Australian tourist couple, who have not been named. They said he made remarks such as 'I'm sorry Hitler didn't finish the job' and threatened to shoot the woman in the head. The video went viral in France. Daily MailR “'I'm sorry Hitler didn't finish the job'” Read at Daily Mail ↗ JNSR “The incident had attracted widespread attention in France after a video of the confrontation went viral in August.” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 1According to prosecutor Stéphanie Aouine, the encounter began cordially, over the husband's France football shirt, before turning to Ireland's policy on Israel. O'Brien then became aggressive. After the woman began filming, he walked away and then threatened in English to kill her if the couple did not leave him alone. Daily MailR “Then it 'veered onto Ireland's policy regarding Israel,' said Ms Aouine.”“before threatening – in English – to kill her if they [the woman and her husband] did not leave him alone.” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Right · 1Police identified him from CCTV and arrested him at his home near Avignon. They seized digital devices that the prosecutor said held further racist material. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez praised the gendarmes and said antisemitism must be fought 'firmly and relentlessly'. Daily MailR “O'Brien was identified by CCTV footage and traced to his home near Avignon, before being taken into police custody.”“'Antisemitism must be fought firmly and relentlessly.'” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 2At the hearing last Friday, O'Brien was convicted of justifying crimes against humanity and of making death threats aggravated by their antisemitic nature. He was ordered to pay €500 to each of the two victims and €300 to Jewish organisations including CHAR and B'nai B'rith. Daily MailR “was convicted of 'attempting to justify crimes against humanity' and 'making death threats aggravated by their antisemitic nature.'” Read at Daily Mail ↗ JNSR “He was ordered to pay €500 ($556) to each victim and €300 ($333) to several civil-party organizations.” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 1Prosecutors had sought a three-year ban from French territory, which the court declined to impose. JNSR “The court rejected prosecutors' request to ban him from French territory for three years.” Read at JNS ↗
Right · 2O'Brien admitted the facts, according to the prosecutor, saying he regretted his words and had let anger get the better of him. In court he described himself as a 'committed humanist' opposed to violence and cited ill health. JNS, citing La Provence, said he admitted intending to hurt the couple verbally after realising the man was Jewish. Daily MailR “'He admitted to the facts while putting them in context – he stated that he regretted his remarks, explaining that he had let anger get the better of him.'” Read at Daily Mail ↗ JNSR “He admitted intending to hurt the couple verbally after realizing that the man was Jewish.” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 2A CHAR spokesman welcomed the verdict but said the punishment was too weak. The victims' lawyer, Annie Cohen, called the sentence excessively lenient, according to La Provence as reported by JNS. Both outlets note that the woman's father was a Holocaust survivor. Daily MailR “a spokesman for CHAR welcomed the verdict, but said the punishment had not been strong enough.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ JNSR “A lawyer representing the victims, Annie Cohen, said the sentence was excessively lenient” Read at JNS ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- Both outlets report the sentence as lenient for antisemitic threats. The Daily Mail leads with the viral video and the quote. JNS gives a short summary based on French media and places it under its antisemitism coverage.
- Emphasis
- Victims' families' Holocaust history, the groups' criticism of the leniency, and the small fines.
- Leaves out or plays down
- JNS omits the prosecutor's account of the argument and the police findings. Neither outlet carries a response from the victims themselves or from O'Brien's lawyer.
- Charged language
- “caused shock and outrage”“poisonous words”“excessively lenient”
- For example
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“caused shock and outrage after he was filmed confronting a couple in a hypermarket in Avignon in August.” — Daily Mail
“said the sentence was excessively lenient” — JNS
What every side reports
- O'Brien, 60, received a six-month suspended sentence in Avignon.
- He was convicted of justifying crimes against humanity and of antisemitic death threats.
- He must pay €500 to each of the two Australian victims and €300 to civil-party groups.
- The court refused the prosecutors' request for a three-year ban from France.
- Victims' representatives said the sentence was too lenient.
Where accounts differ
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Where the incident happened
- Right
- The Daily Mail places it at a hypermarket in Avignon (the interior minister referred to Le Pontet). JNS says 'near Marseille' in its lede and 'in Avignon' later.
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The reasons for the confrontation
- Right
- The Daily Mail reports the prosecutor's account of an argument over Ireland's Israel policy and includes Ireland's 'genocide' finding. JNS does not mention this and says only that he intended to hurt the couple after realising the man was Jewish.
Patrick O'Brien person
He admitted the facts, said he regretted his remarks and had let anger get the better of him, and described himself as a humanist opposed to violence.
“a 'committed humanist' who opposed any form of violence.” — Daily Mail
“In court, he described himself as a “great humanist,”” — JNS
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right2 articles
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Critical Detailed account that stresses the viral video, the victims' Holocaust family history and CHAR's complaint that the sentence is too light. It also connects the argument to Ireland's stance on Israel.
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JNSR ·
Irish man gets suspended sentence for threatening Jews in France
Critical Short report from French media that stresses the lenient sentence and the lawyer's criticism.
- 27 Oct 11:37 First Daily MailR Irishman who threatened to 'put a bullet in the head' of a Jewish woman in viral video is given suspended prison sentence
- 29 Oct 09:58 +46h 21m JNSR Irish man gets suspended sentence for threatening Jews in France
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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