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David Irving given prison sentence
Although today's Australian reports that holocaust denier David Irving's defence lawyer was hoping for a suspended sentence in consideration for a guilty plea, the BBC reports that Irving has been sentenced to three years in prison.
The Australian's story has some interesting background information, including that in 2004 724 people were charged in Austria with holocaust denial or related offences (though apparently few were imprisoned). The BBC site contains some good links to other media reports.
No doubt there'll be a lot of comment about the decision, which Irving has said he'll appeal against. IMO Irving is a disingenuous ranter but imprisoning him, while unlikely to make him a martyr as some are claiming, will keep him on the margins of fame (celebrity?) instead of letting him slip out of the public mind.
2 comments:
I wonder if the legislation exists in Austria in order to discredit and disown its most infamous son, Adolf Hitler. Irving may be an eccentric crank elsewhere in the world, but clearly not in Austria.
Who looks silliest now - the Austrian justice system or Irvine? It's a close call.
I believe that the legislation of which Irving fell foul was passed just after WW2. The BBC has a further post on its website at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4734648.stm
which, among other things, says that 11 European countries still have similar laws on their statute books.
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