Academic avoids extradition over Holocaust denial
German warrant lacking website details chucked out of court
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An Australian academic accused of holocaust denial has escaped extradition from the UK to Germany.
Dr Gerald Toben, 64, was accused of publishing anti-Semitic content on his website. But a judge threw an extradition request out of court after deciding it was invalid because it lacked any details of the website where the allegedly inflammatory material was written, among other factors.
The German authorities offered to find out the necessary details, but Judge Daphne Wickham ruled that allowing the admission of a "drip-feed of information" was unacceptable, ruling in favour of the defendant and discharging the case. "I find that the particulars are vague and imprecise. I find the warrant invalid and therefore discharge the defendant,", the Daily Telegraph reports.
German authorities plan to appeal against the judge's decision. In the meantime, Dr Toben was granted bail once he raises a £100,000 bond. Conditions of his bail include fixed residency, a prohibition on using the internet and a block on giving interviews to the media.
The contentious material was allegedly posted online by Dr Toben between 2000 and 2004. An extradition warrant was issued in October 2004 over material that allegedly downplayed the extent of the Nazi's mass extermination of Jewish people during World War II.
Dr Toben was cuffed at London's Heathrow airport on 1 October while in transit between the US and Dubai.
The controversial author and historian was reportedly jailed in Germany back in 1999 for "defaming the dead", an offence under German Holocaust memorial laws.
The Adelaide Institute website run by Dr Toben has attracted criticism for years. Eight years ago he fended off a lawsuit from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission in Australia arguing that offensive content posted on the site breached Australian racial discrimination laws and ought to be taken down.
Dr Toben claims he has no hope of receiving a fair trial in the event of his extradition to Germany. He further claims the current charges against him are a cyber re-hash of the 1999 prosecution. ®
COMMENTS
I have every sympathy with the chap.
Essentially, he is being subject to legal action because of the political and historical beliefs which he holds.
Whats that thing called again, where people are made criminals for their thoughts?
Hang on till I check my newspeak dictionary.
The Nazis
killed a lot of people in Russia , Eastern Europe and the Balkans, because Adolf Hitler wanted to exterminate SLAVIC people, who he called "sub-human".
With the Russian dead at around 25 Million at the last count I know of, then many more Slavic people died because they were Slavic , than died because they were Jews.
Strange that few seem to care about that Holocaust.
nuts
I am sure one day soon there will be jewish hackers bent of tracking down every ip address linked to antisemitism Be it an up front attack such as stormfront or be it a silly jewish girls online guestbook who has fellow jewish teens leaving silly remarks.
There will be those who take things too far both on the left and right and both will proclaim they have a right,a mandate by god. Well if you claim a right then others will have that right as much as you do and your right does not take their rights away. Even after reading other news that some people are trying to make the "COEXISIT" bumper sticker banned which is made up of religious symblos.
Kinda reminds me of the Jerry Springer video where a KKK guy and a jewish body gaurd got into a scuffle over symbolic gestures. One is allowed to have german and jewish pride and to have one which is better than another is foolish. But hisotry plays itself out as Germans being the fools. The german govt is allowing jewish victims of the Holocaust to buy historical german buildings then after the purchase they tear them down. It is the same difference as to how they obtain their german last name. Germany is no more. get over it. I was there recently and the beer sucks long live TsingTao chinese beer!
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