Holocaust denier arrested in England

Antipodean Andy · Oct 5, 2008

British police arrest Australian 'Holocaust denier' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

British police have detained an alleged Holocaust denier from Australia on arrival at London's Heathrow airport, on the basis of a European arrest warrant, a spokesman said.

Australian Gerald Toben, 64, was detained by the Metropolitan Police's extradition unit under a European Union arrest warrant issued by Germany, which accuses him of anti-Semitism.

Specifically, Toben - who also uses the first name Frederick - faces charges of publishing material on the internet "of an anti-Semitic and or revisionist nature" which denies, approves of, or plays down the Holocaust.

The warrant claims the offences were committed in Australia, Germany and other countries.

Toben was due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court later in the day.
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Antipodean Andy · Oct 5, 2008

Looks like he doesn't learn from the past...in more ways than one.

Accused Aust Holocaust denier denied bail in London - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

An Australian man has been arrested at Heathrow Airport in London accused of being a Holocaust denier.

Gerald Frederick Toben, 64, was in transit on a flight from the United States to Dubai.

Dr Toben was refused bail in London's Westminster Magistrate's court and will appear again on Friday for an extradition hearing.

He was on the plane when Scotland Yard's extradition unit detained him under a European Union arrest warrant.

The Adelaide teacher is wanted by the District Court in Mannheim Germany on charges of publishing material on the internet of an anti-Semitic and/or revisionist nature.

Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany with a maximum jail term of five years.

In 1999 Dr Toben spent seven months in jail in Germany for breaching that law.
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Antipodean Andy · Oct 5, 2008

'Holocaust denier' fights extradition to Germany - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Fredrick Toben, an Australian man wanted in Germany for publishing anti-semitic views, is fighting his extradition from Britain.

Earlier this week, Fredrick Toben was arrested at Heathrow Airport in transit from America to Dubai.

At a second court hearing, his lawyers appealed for more time to prepare his case.

German authorities want to extradite the South Australian man so he can stand trial for publishing views on his Adelaide Institute website that there was no mass murder of Jews by the Nazis during the Second World War.

Denying the Holocaust is an offence in Germany but not in the UK and Fredrick Toben plans to fight his extradition on those grounds.

He will reappear in court next Friday.
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Antipodean Andy · Oct 5, 2008

Irving supports Australian 'Holocaust denier' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Controversial historian David Irving has jumped to the defence of Gerald Frederick Toben, the Australian man who was detained by British police earlier in the week on a German arrest warrant.

Germany alleges the Australian denies the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis in World War II.

Denying the Holocaust is an offence that carries a five-year jail sentence, and the German authorities are seeking his extradition.

Toben set up the Adelaide Institute in 1994, an organisation that is considered to be a Holocaust denial group.

Overnight the South Australian appeared in a London court where he fought against his extradition, and there to support him was Mr Irving.

Mr Irving says the prosecution of people he calls revisionist historians is a direct attack on free speech.

"I think it's a contagion that's going around the world. It began in Australia, it began in Canada," he said.

"I think if you have one version of history that is government-approved then all society suffers.

"It's the job of us, the revisionist historians, to ask questions, even if they're awkward questions, questions that governments don't like."

Despite his show of support, Mr Irving is not holding out much hope for the extradition fight and he expects Toben to come before a German court.

"What scandalises me is that this is obviously a political offence that he is being charged with, and you cannot be extradited for political offences," he said.

"This used to be one of the great securities of the human rights. But under the legislation in Europe now people who criticise aspects of holocaust history are denied the protection of the Human Rights Act in Europe."

Mr Irving has offered to have Toben stay at his house and to guarantee his appearance at any subsequent court dates.

Toben will reappear in court next Friday.
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Kyt · Oct 6, 2008

I was reading about him over the weekend and the following article came as a shock:

BBC NEWS | UK | MP backing for 'Holocaust denier'

British courts should refuse to act on an EU arrest warrant requesting the extradition of an alleged Holocaust denier, a senior Lib Dem has said.

Australian citizen Dr Gerald Toben was remanded in custody after his arrest by British police at Heathrow Airport.

German authorities allege Dr Toben published material online "of an anti-Semitic and/or revisionist nature".

But home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said holocaust denial is not a crime in the UK and he should not be extradited.

Dr Toben, a German-born former schoolteacher, was en route from the United States to Dubai when he was arrested.

He has been remanded in custody ahead of a bail hearing on 10 October and a full hearing on 17 October.

He has previously been convicted in Germany for breaking a law that prohibits denying or "playing down" the mass murder of the Jews under Hitler.

But some human rights campaigners have backed his case, saying that his views - however unpleasant - do not make him a criminal in the UK.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), acting for the German authorities, argues that agreements signed in 2003 between the UK and other European countries mean that Britain is duty-bound to assist the German authorities.

But Mr Huhne, a former MEP, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that countries could "pick and choose" cases in which they would apply warrants issued by fellow EU member states.

The Lib Dem home affairs spokesman said there were good legal grounds for refusing to participate. He cited the case of Belgium, which is refusing to send suspects to Poland on murder charges which related to abortion.

Mr Huhne said: "There is a clear precedent for doing this and I think we should in this case."

Dr Toben has in the past described the Holocaust as "a lie" and has claimed on his Australian-based website, the Adelaide Institute, there was "no proof" Hitler systematically exterminated the Jews.

'Pretty dodgy'

While stressing that he was completely opposed to anti-Semitism, Mr Huhne said: "We don't in this country tend to prosecute people for issues that we regard as issues of freedom of speech."

Mr Huhne said the case seemed "pretty dodgy" given the fact the offence was not committed in Germany.

In his court appearance earlier this week, Dr Toben, 64, claimed he was the victim of a "legal ambush" and promised never to return to Britain if he was allowed to leave.

Judges will decide whether the alleged conduct constitutes an extraditable offence.
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Antipodean Andy · Oct 6, 2008

Wish he would promise never to return here as well. Have to admit to thinking it was a bit of a stretch given the crime was not committed in Germany but the website is accessible from anywhere so...

Antipodean Andy · Nov 27, 2008

Germany drops Australian Holocaust denial case - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Legal action to extradite a South Australian man wanted in Germany for publishing anti-semitic views has been dropped.

Fredrick Toben was arrested at Heathrow Airport when he was in transit from America to Dubai.

He is wanted in Germany on charges that he is a Holocaust denier, after publishing views on his Adelaide Institute website that there was no mass murder of Jews by Nazis .

A British court found the warrant to extradite him from Britain to Germany was invalid and he was released on conditional bail.

He had to remain in the UK until the case was heard in the High Court.

Now German prosecutors have withdrawn their appeal and the legal action against Mr Toben has been dropped.

His lawyers say he is now awaiting the return of his passport.
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Antipodean Andy · Dec 7, 2008

Toben flies home to 'freedom' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

South Australian man Frederick Toben has returned to Adelaide after avoiding a recent German attempt to extradite him from the United Kingdom.

Police arrested Mr Toben in London in early October at Germany's request, as it wanted him to face charges of being a Holocaust denier.

The extradition case was thrown out of court and German authorities have since withdrawn the extradition request.

Arriving in Adelaide, Mr Toben said people had more freedom in Australia.

"This is the beauty of Australia or the common law countries. They do not as yet criminalise thoughts," he said.

"In European law your thoughts can be criminalised. We haven't got that in common law countries yet."

Mr Toben who was on flight from the United States to Dubai says he now believes he would also have been arrested at his destination.

"I was in transit and I got pulled off the plane at Heathrow," he said.

"Had I gone to Dubai I would have hit the European arrest warrant there.

"They've got it and I wouldn't have had a chance of surviving as I did in England where the legal team did its work."
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Antipodean Andy · May 14, 2009

Jail for Holocaust denier Toben - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

A Holocaust denier living in Adelaide has been sentenced to three months in jail after being found guilty of 24 charges of contempt.

It has been seven years since Fredrick Toben was ordered not to publish material vilifying Jewish people on his website.

In 2007 he apologised for breaching the orders and said he would comply.

Last month, Justice Bruce Lander found that since giving that undertaking Toben has disobeyed the ruling a further 24 times.

Justice Lander today ordered the 65-year-old be imprisoned for three months.

He said Toben's behaviour had been calculated and that subsequent apologies were not genuine, but aimed at limiting his penalty.

Toben has not been taken into custody yet and Judge Lander has given him 14 days to lodge an appeal.

Outside court Toben said he had been ready to go to jail.

"I am quite prepared to sacrifice my physical comforts for the sake of free expression," he said.

"The essence of this court case is saving free expression."

The Federal Court case was brought by a senior member of Australia's Jewish community, Jeremy Jones.

He says there have been a number of complaints lodged under the same law.

"Everybody else who has had a finding from this has said 'Yes, we understand the law and we will obey the law.' They might not like to and they've suffered no further consequences," he said.

"It's only because after judgments have come at a number of levels that Fredrick Toben has for whatever reason made a decision not to obey those judgments that he's facing any consequences."
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