Austria: Court convicts man who questioned gassing of Jews

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Updated 7:17 am, Monday, July 31, 2017


VIENNA (AP) — An Austrian court has found a man who claimed the mass killings of Jews in gas chambers under Adolf Hitler was a story made up by Jews guilty of violating the country's anti-Nazi laws and sentenced him to a suspended 12-month prison term.

Additionally, the man has been convicted of the crime of incitement for calling Muslims vermin. The court in the western city of Feldkirch ordered him Monday to pay a fine of 1,440 euros ($1,690).

Both statements were made on Facebook. In claiming that the mass gassings were fiction, the man said Jews made up the story to make Hitler look bad should he have won the war.

The 34-year old acknowledged the postings were his. He is not being identified in keeping with Austrian privacy laws.

 

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Austria-Court-convicts-man-who-questioned-11719918.php

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(Short article, no more at link.)

[Hortensis]

1. We have no laws that would punish this behavior.

Only incitement that can be proven linked to hate crimes may be prosecuted, actual final trial dates years in the future.

We desperately need a national "no yelling fire in a crowded nation" law. It would not apply to truthful statements delivered in honest contexts. It would not apply to the free speech of individuals or to activities of ordinary organizations, but only to those with very large audiences, of a size that would make their lies dangerous to society. It would apply to those deliberately and with malice aforethought who disseminate the kind of enormously influential occult lying e-mail campaigns that spread like wildfire across the nation. And under this law no one would own 300 radio stations or newspapers, or even a significant fraction.

It may well be that France was saved from a radical right-wing takeover by suppression of a massive lying propaganda blizzard in the final days of their election. They benefited from our tragic experience.

[NutmegYankee]

3. Abandoning freedom of speech would be a horrifically bad idea

What is truth? Depends on the Party in power. Young Earth Creationists consider evolution and geology to be lies and consider their worldview was the truth.

Abandoning free speech would put the left in mortal danger at times like now.

[Hortensis]

4. Where did I say that? I am a huge first amendment

supporter, but it is being weaponized and used to attack the principles our liberal democracy is based on. Our founding fathers did not plan for the information age. But we're in it and doing nothing is not an option.

Please engage mind before engaging?

[NutmegYankee]

5. "Please engage mind before engaging?". READ YOUR POST AGAIN.

[Stuart G]

2. What can one say????????????????