Photo: Doug Christie’s clients included white supremacists and an alleged Nazi war criminal. (YouTube screenshot)
Attorney was seen by some as an ardent free-speech advocate, while others suspected him of sharing clients’ views
TORONTO (JTA) — Doug Christie, the Canadian lawyer who defended a slew of Holocaust deniers, white supremacists and an accused Nazi war criminal has died.
While many mourn him as a staunch defender of free speech, Christie was a lightning rod for the Jewish community’s anger and suspicion. His client list included German Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel; Wolfgang Droege, head of the neo-Nazi Heritage Front; anti-Semitic teachers Paul Fromm, Malcolm Ross and James Keegstra; white supremacists Doug Collins, John Ross Taylor and Terry Tremain; and alleged Nazi war criminal Imre Finta.
Many believed Christie shared the views of the extremists and anti-Semites he represented, a perception that dogged him into death, the National Post reported.
“Even to this day, the jury remains out in my mind as to whether or not he was a fellow traveler with them or simply a defense counsel,” said Bernie Farber, the former head of the Canadian Jewish Congress, who encountered Christie many times in court. “My gut tells me he was kind of a fellow traveler, but he was an ardent and passionate defender of their right to free speech.”
Farber recently wrote to Christie to wish him a full recovery.
In a letter to the Post, Farber elaborated: “I always believed that Doug Christie made common cause with his racist clients. The level of complicity to me was always a mystery. His courtroom attacks on Holocaust survivors were reprehensible. And from time to time his zealous defense of his client-bigots led him to utter statements that were in effect anti-Semitic.”
http://www.timesofisrael.com/doug-christie-defender-of-holocaust-deniers-dies/
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