Nazi sympathisers are using the Scottish Prison Service to fund the lifestyle of a notorious French Holocaust denier.
Vincent Reynouard, 53, was arrested in Anstruther, Fife, in a joint operation involving Scottish and French authorities on November 10. Since then, the far-right have been banding together to send the Frenchman money and letters of encouragement to his prison cell in Edinburgh.
Following a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last week, Reynouard was remanded in custody at HMP Edinburgh ahead of an extradition hearing in February. He had boasted online about how donors were bankrolling his exiled existence and had been the subject of a two-year search for his whereabouts led by France's Central Office for the Fight against Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes.
Since his arrest, the hashtags #LibertePourReynouard and #JeSuisVincent have appeared on Twitter attempting to encourage others to write letters addressed to his Edinburgh jail cell and fundraise. One tweet lists the address of HMP Edinburgh, where Reynouard is being held, alongside his cell number.
It also details how supporters can send money to him via the Scottish Prison Service Prisoner Funds Central, an online tool which enables funds to be sent to "friends and loved ones who are currently in custody" in Scotland.
The tweet reads: "To help Vincent financially, which he really needs right now, there are two ways. Pounds sterling can be sent directly to him in cash at the postal address indicated above, but the limit must not exceed 50 pounds sterling for each transaction."
The details have also been included in an article titled "All about Vincent Reynouard!" by French far-right website Jeune Nation, named after a French nationalist and neo-fascist far-right movement founded in 1949. Reynouard was convicted under anti-Nazi laws across the Channel, where he was given a four-month jail term in November 2020 and a further six months in January 2021.
Holocaust denial has been a criminal offence in France since 1990, and Reynouard has been convicted on numerous occasions. He was given a four-month jail term in November 2020 and a further six months in January 2021.
His latest conviction was in relation to a series of anti-Semitic posts on social media. Reynouard claimed he was able to evade authorities due to the steady stream of donations he had received from his supporters, as well as income he received from working a few hours a week as an online maths tutor.
He described his "very simple life in a small room creating videos, cycling, reading and meditating" while eating "the same food every day (fresh vegetables and Weetabix)" financed entirely by donations.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: "We don't comment on individuals in our care. A Prisoner Funds Account, which is available in each establishment, holds funds, which SPS are responsible for, on behalf of prisoners, including personal cash, wages, and PIN phone balances.
"Every individual in our care has access to this system, whereby money can be transferred in by friends and family to be used to purchase PIN phone top-ups, sundry items, and canteen products. One method of paying funds into a prisoner's local account is by bank transfer, for which an online reference generator is used.
"Guidance on this is available on the SPS website, including the upper limit of £50 per transfer. In addition to this, local limits may also be set for cash handed in, or sent in, at the discretion of the Governor of each establishment.
"Transactions can also be monitored for security purposes where intelligence deems appropriate."
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