Irving Found Guilty and Sentenced

by Cliopatria

Today, David Irving pled guilty and was convicted of Holocaust denial in an Austrian court. Facing up to a 10 year prison sentence, the 67 year old historian was sentenced to three years in prison. It comes in the midst of fierce debate in Europe, set off by the Danish publication of cartoons of the prophet Mohammad, about free speech and free press rights.

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Thomas Brown - 2/20/2006

Anyone who values freedom of speech should be outraged by this conviction. Surely with such a marginal figure the best strategy is to ignore him, especially given that he's already been roundly refuted.

I can't help but compare this to the recent cartoon controversy. I won't hold my breath waiting for European newspapers to republish Irving, though.

Oscar Chamberlain - 2/20/2006

I do not like sentencing someone to jail for his published thoughts, even if you assume he is deliberately lying as opposed to self-deluded. Thinking about it, it would be more logical to see Austrians put in jail who lied about welcoming the Anschluss, but I'm not holding my breath.