German court sentences Ernst Zundel to 5 years in prison for Holocaust denialFebruary 15, 2007 - 18:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Far-right activist Ernst Zundel was convicted of 14 counts of incitement Thursday for Holocaust denial and sentenced to the maximum five years in prison. Zundel, 67, who was deported from Canada in 2005, was accused of years of anti-Semitic activities, including denying the Holocaust - a crime in Germany - in documents and on the Internet.Zundel and his supporters have argued that he is a peaceful campaigner who has been denied his right to free speech. Zundel has been a prominent white supremacist and Holocaust denier since the 1970s. Among other ventures, he ran Samisdat Publishers, a leading distributor of Nazi propaganda based in Canada. He also provided content to The Zundelsite website, which has followers around the world, hundreds of whom have protested his detention. Zundel was born in Germany in 1939. He immigrated to Canada in 1958 and lived in Toronto and Montreal until 2001. Canadian officials rejected his attempts to obtain citizenship in 1966 and 1994. Upon arrival in Toronto, Zundel was arrested and held in detention until a judge ruled in March 2005 that his activities posed a threat to national and international security, and he was deported to Germany. Zundel has been standing trial in Germany since November of last year in what were, at times, raucous proceedings. In the current trial, defence lawyer Ludwig Bock quoted from Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and from Nazi race laws in his closing statements last week as argued for Zundel's acquittal, reports canada.com. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |