Canadian Comedian Mike Ward has been ordered to pay former child singer Jeremy Gabriel $35,000 for making jokes that violated his rights.

The amounts consists of $25,000 in moral damages and $10,000 in punitive damages. Ward has also been ordered by the court in Quebec to pay Gabriel's mother Sylvie a total of $5,000 for moral damages and $2,000 for punitive damages.

The case follows jokes Ward made about Gabriel, who has Treacher Collins syndrome, on his show Mike Ward's eXpose. It was claimed that the jokes gravely affected Gabriel's dignity.

During the case, Gabriel's lawyer Marie Dominique argued that there is a difference between making fun of a public figure and making fun of a child with a disability. The judge decided that the jokes went beyond being an exercise in freedom of expression.

Ward is due to appear at the Edinburgh Fringe from August 3 to 28. The Fringe listing says that Ward "has decided to get his money's worth by bringing the joke to Edinburgh as part of a show about Freedom of Expression." Tickets here.

Read more about the case here.