Antiochus Epiphanes
March 13th, 2006, 03:45 PM
This is pathetic. This being passed around from credible sources but it would be nice to have a scan or link.
March 12, 2006
AUSTRIAN PRESS AND INFORMATION SERVICE
3524 International Court NW
Washington, DC 20008-3035
Referring to your concern over the sentencing of the British Historian David Irving in Austria, we would like to draw your attention to the following facts:
Fifty years ago, in 1955, Austria instated legislative measures to serve as a safeguard against resurgence of NS activity of any kind. For countries having witnessed the devastating consequences of National Socialism and the
Holocaust and having struggled to come to terms with it, fear of a resurgence of neo-Nazism is understandable. Today, you may be imprisoned or fined for dissenting from the accepted Holocaust history in the following other countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, (1) Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and
Switzerland.
European countries have a different history and culture of free speech than that in the United States. In Germany, for example, the "Auschwitz lie" law makes it a crime to "defame the memory of the dead". Recently, the British debated the merits of banning religious hate speech. In France, it is illegal to challenge the existence of the "crimes against humanity" as they were defined by the military tribunal at Nuremberg. In Switzerland, denial of genocide is punishable and liable to prosecution. In traditionally liberal Canada, there are "anti-hate" laws against spreading "false news". (2)
In 1992, when Mr. Irving went to Canada to receive the George Orwell award from a conservative free speech organization, he was arrested and deported on the ground that his German court conviction for denying the Holocaust made him a likely candidate for future hate speech violations.
Also, in the U.S., free speech has been subject to legal intervention, which ultimately led to the concept of the "clear and present danger" test. It has become a standard test where U.S. law puts a limit on free speech.
This limit is considered constitutional if it can be demonstrated that the use of language in question poses a "clear and present danger." Today, this principle is also referred to as "imminent lawless action" test, as a means to
determine if speech does fall under constitutional protection.
Freedom of speech and liberal thought and action are highly valued in current day Austria. The "Verbotsgesetz," however, is relevant to all issues touching upon National Socialism.
THE SENTENCING OF DAVID IRVING, OFFICIAL RULING
David Irving sentence on February 20, to an unconditional 3-year prison term without probation due to resuming NS activity. Irving was arrested on November 11, 2005 in Austria because of an Austrian warrant for arrest dating back to November 8, 1989. He announced an appeal for annulment and called for revoking the sentence. Thus, the verdict is not yet final.
The warrant for arrest was issued due to his denying the existence of gas chambers in NS concentration camps while giving numerous lectures in 1989 in Austria. Since that time, there has been a pending pretrial investigation of Irving.
The sentence was issued on the basis of the statute that prohibits advocating NS activity (Vertobsgesetz) stated in SS 3g.
"Paragraph 3g: He who operates in a manner characterized other than that in SS 3a-3f will be punished [that is to the extent that the deed is not more strictly punishable according to another section.] with a prison sentence form
one up to ten years, and in cases of particularly dangerous suspects or activity, up to 20 years imprisonment.
Austria is aware of its historical responsibility and, according to Article 9, Paragraph 1 of the Austrian State Treaty of 1955, obligated to prevent "all Nazi-like activity and propaganda in Austria."
Article 10 of the European Human Rights Convention, which provides the standards for the right to freedom of speech, emphasizes in Paragraph 2 that taking advantage of these rights brings with it obligations and responsibility and, therefore, "particularly, in terms of the law, are subject to the limitations or to threats of punishment," "as they are necessary in a democratic society and in the interest of maintaining order and preventing crime." Article 9 of the Austrian State Treaty, having the rank of a Constitutional Law, is such a legal limitation, conforming to civil- and human rights laws.
Embassy of Austria in the United States, Washington, D.C.
March 12, 2006
AUSTRIAN PRESS AND INFORMATION SERVICE
3524 International Court NW
Washington, DC 20008-3035
Referring to your concern over the sentencing of the British Historian David Irving in Austria, we would like to draw your attention to the following facts:
Fifty years ago, in 1955, Austria instated legislative measures to serve as a safeguard against resurgence of NS activity of any kind. For countries having witnessed the devastating consequences of National Socialism and the
Holocaust and having struggled to come to terms with it, fear of a resurgence of neo-Nazism is understandable. Today, you may be imprisoned or fined for dissenting from the accepted Holocaust history in the following other countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, (1) Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and
Switzerland.
European countries have a different history and culture of free speech than that in the United States. In Germany, for example, the "Auschwitz lie" law makes it a crime to "defame the memory of the dead". Recently, the British debated the merits of banning religious hate speech. In France, it is illegal to challenge the existence of the "crimes against humanity" as they were defined by the military tribunal at Nuremberg. In Switzerland, denial of genocide is punishable and liable to prosecution. In traditionally liberal Canada, there are "anti-hate" laws against spreading "false news". (2)
In 1992, when Mr. Irving went to Canada to receive the George Orwell award from a conservative free speech organization, he was arrested and deported on the ground that his German court conviction for denying the Holocaust made him a likely candidate for future hate speech violations.
Also, in the U.S., free speech has been subject to legal intervention, which ultimately led to the concept of the "clear and present danger" test. It has become a standard test where U.S. law puts a limit on free speech.
This limit is considered constitutional if it can be demonstrated that the use of language in question poses a "clear and present danger." Today, this principle is also referred to as "imminent lawless action" test, as a means to
determine if speech does fall under constitutional protection.
Freedom of speech and liberal thought and action are highly valued in current day Austria. The "Verbotsgesetz," however, is relevant to all issues touching upon National Socialism.
THE SENTENCING OF DAVID IRVING, OFFICIAL RULING
David Irving sentence on February 20, to an unconditional 3-year prison term without probation due to resuming NS activity. Irving was arrested on November 11, 2005 in Austria because of an Austrian warrant for arrest dating back to November 8, 1989. He announced an appeal for annulment and called for revoking the sentence. Thus, the verdict is not yet final.
The warrant for arrest was issued due to his denying the existence of gas chambers in NS concentration camps while giving numerous lectures in 1989 in Austria. Since that time, there has been a pending pretrial investigation of Irving.
The sentence was issued on the basis of the statute that prohibits advocating NS activity (Vertobsgesetz) stated in SS 3g.
"Paragraph 3g: He who operates in a manner characterized other than that in SS 3a-3f will be punished [that is to the extent that the deed is not more strictly punishable according to another section.] with a prison sentence form
one up to ten years, and in cases of particularly dangerous suspects or activity, up to 20 years imprisonment.
Austria is aware of its historical responsibility and, according to Article 9, Paragraph 1 of the Austrian State Treaty of 1955, obligated to prevent "all Nazi-like activity and propaganda in Austria."
Article 10 of the European Human Rights Convention, which provides the standards for the right to freedom of speech, emphasizes in Paragraph 2 that taking advantage of these rights brings with it obligations and responsibility and, therefore, "particularly, in terms of the law, are subject to the limitations or to threats of punishment," "as they are necessary in a democratic society and in the interest of maintaining order and preventing crime." Article 9 of the Austrian State Treaty, having the rank of a Constitutional Law, is such a legal limitation, conforming to civil- and human rights laws.
Embassy of Austria in the United States, Washington, D.C.