A MUSIC video which depicts an attack on a right-wing activist is at the centre of a freedom of expression row after a ban on viewing the film was finally lifted by YouTube.
The streaming site blocked access to the video by Declan Welsh & The Decadent West, a political indie pop band from East Kilbride, claiming that it "incites violence".
The conclusion of the video sees three people assaulting a suited 'alt-right' supporter in the street while the song delivers the message: "Hey Nazi Boys... we're gonna get you."
The band and the video's director Neelam Khan Vela protested the ban insisting it is satire "rather than a call to arms".
Its cover art features a high-heeled shoe being plunged into the face of a man, with the words "Nazi Boys" scrawled across the top.
When he announced the song at a recent concert, Declan Welsh declared: “This was written as a threat to Neo-Nazis".
Declan Welsh, who has reportedly worked with the charity Children In Scotland and performed at the Concert For Corbyn event in Glasgow, has been unrepentant about the controversy.
"It's as puzzling as it is frustrating that YouTube outright banned the video... Youtube's decision defies logic," he said.
"YouTube's reasoning for banning our video was that it may cause offence to marginalised and incites violence.
"Whether we want to debate the merits of meeting fascism with physical resistance is really by the by here.
"We created two minutes and 20 second long piece of art, with a director whose main aim was to provoke a response.
Declan Welsh introduces Nazi Boys song at King Tut's in July. Source: John McKinlay YouTube
"The Nazi Boys video is not an instruction manual or a documentary. It is an artistic provocation."
Video director Neelam Khan Vela said the video was a work of fiction.
"I firmly believe that violence isn't the answer or solution to anything, but this is a fictional film as any other violent film or comic book could be," he said.
YouTube declined to comment.
But a source said the video was not available because it was "potentially offensive", but said after a review they decided to allow it for its "artistic intent".
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article