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Title: Canadian Jewish groups happy about Zundel charges, waiting for conviction
Source:
The Canadian Press
URL Source: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050719/w071988.html
Published: Jul 19, 2005
Author: n/a
Post Date: 2005-07-19 23:56:55 by 1776
Keywords: conviction, Canadian, charges,
Views: 628
Comments: 28
BERLIN (CP) - German prosecutors said Tuesday they have charged white supremacist Ernst Zundel with inciting racial hatred, four months after he was deported from Canada. German authorities accuse Zundel of decades of anti-Semitic activities, including repeated denials of the Holocaust - a crime in Germany - in documents and on the Internet. Zundel is "known internationally as a leader of the right-wing scene," prosecutors in the southwestern city of Mannheim said Tuesday in a statement listing 14 examples of alleged incitement. It was unclear when he might face a trial, which Jewish leaders hope will spread awareness of the Holocaust. Zundel was arrested in March on his arrival in Germany after a long legal battle, and remains in jail. He had been detained in Toronto since 2003 under anti-terrorism laws and deported after a Canadian judge ruled his activities a threat to national and international security. The Canadian Jewish Congress said it was glad to hear Zundel had been charged, but said justice will not be served fully until he is convicted. "Certainly we're very pleased that German prosecutors have charged Mr. Zundel," spokesman Len Rudner said from Toronto. "But it's a successful prosecution that will go a long way to completely discrediting Ernst Zundel." Born in Germany in 1939, Zundel emigrated to Canada in 1958 and lived in Toronto and Montreal until 2001. Canadian officials rejected his attempts to obtain citizenship in 1966 and 1994. He moved to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., until he was deported to Canada in 2003 for alleged immigration violations. While Jewish groups in Canada hailed Zundel's deportation, some civil libertarians argued it was a crime against freedom of speech. "Banning ideas - even foolish ones - is just never healthy," Paul Fromm, the president of the Canadian Association for Freedom of Expression, said Tuesday from Toronto after hearing of Zundel's charges. "It's very disappointing and it's sad to see the German government has learned nothing about democracy." German prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant for Zundel in 2003. Because his Holocaust-denying website was available in Germany, he is considered to have been spreading his message to Germans.
Poster Comment: Nothing to see here, remember what is important is policy chat.
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#7. To: christine, Bayonne, robin, Eoghan, Diana, wbales (#0)
Ernst Zundel Formally Charged for Speech 'Crimes' in Germany
#9. To: 1776 (#7)
Jewish justice. Period. Not western justice.
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News/Comment; Posted on: 2005-07-20 03:23:23
Ernst Zundel charged with incitement in Germany after extradition from Canada; Jewish groups "happy."
by National Vanguard correspondents
German prosecutors said Tuesday they have charged German-Canadian writer and artist Ernst Zundel with "incitement to racial hatred."
Zundel, who was extradited from Canada earlier this year, is accused of "spreading anti-Semitism and denying the Holocaust," partly in texts distributed via the Internet, prosecutors in the southwestern city of Mannheim stated.
The Canadian Press wire service reports "It was unclear when he might face a trial, which Jewish leaders hope will spread awareness of the Holocaust.... The Canadian Jewish Congress [CJC] said it was glad to hear Zundel had been charged, but said justice will not be served fully until he is convicted."
"Certainly we're very pleased that German prosecutors have charged Mr. Zundel," CJC spokesman Len Rudner said from Toronto. "But it's a successful prosecution that will go a long way to completely discrediting Ernst Zundel."
Kevin Alfred Strom, a spokesman for National Vanguard, a White rights group, disagreed: "Far from 'discrediting' Ernst Zundel, this trial will, more than anything else, discredit the Jewish supremacists who want to restrict free speech and criminalize any criticism of their agenda, and whose 'Holocaust' story is so weak that it cannot stand the light of open debate. It will ensure that Ernst Zundel's name will be remembered centuries from now as a pioneer of free thought and free expression."
Canadian Press story; quotes Paul Fromm
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Zundel's Persecution: By Order of the Jews, part 2
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Ernst Zundel's First Letter from Mannheim Jail
Removing Implanted False Beliefs...
Replies to Comment # 7. The Canadian Jewish Congress [CJC] said it was glad to hear Zundel had been charged, but said justice will not be served fully until he is convicted."
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