PARIS (EJP)--- The Paris-based Simon Wiesenthal Center was last Thursday convicted of defamation by a Paris court for accusing a French-based group of financing Palestinian militants.

The Committee for Charity and Support for the Palestinians (CBSP) filed suit against the centre’s head of international relations, Shimon Samuels, after he claimed it finances terrorism and sent funds in support of the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.

The CBSP has dismissed the charges as "ridiculous", saying it worked to support 3,000 Palestinian orphans.

Samuel was handed a suspended fine of 1,000 euros and ordered to pay one euro in symbolic damages to the Palestinian support group over what the court described as "seriously defamatory" allegations.

The court ruled that documents produced by the center established no "direct or indirect participation in financing terrorism".

The Wiesenthal centre announced later that it had appealed the court ruling.

"I have no intention of criticising my judges. I have, however, appealed this decision which I deem unjustified," Samuels told EJP.

"The Court, after having studied the 150 exhibits that I had submitted, stated that these ‘indeed constituted an impressive body of evidence’ but then proceeded to use some of the documentation against me".

'Thorough investigation'

"My intention was to report the thorough investigation which I had undertaken over the last two years. I am certain that the rigorous findings that I provided cannot be seriously contradicted by any elements of my defence or the arguments of the CBSP," he added.

Israel in the past has also accused the CBSP of supporting the Palestinian radical group Hamas by transferring funds to the families of people killed by the Israeli military or during anti-Israeli attacks.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a human rights group dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust by fostering tolerance and understanding.

The organisation is named after Simon Wiesenthal, an Austrian Jew who lost many family members in the Holocaust, and later dedicated most of his life to tracking down fugitive Nazis to bring them to justice.