A rightwing militant who spread propaganda that the Holocaust never occurred, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by a court of appeals for incitement to racial hatred. The defendant, Jean-Robert Debbault, had appealed an 18-month sentence imposed earlier by a lower court. But his appeal was rejected and six months were added to the original term.
Debbault, who was tried in absentia, published a pamphlet by a former Belgian Nazi collaborator, Leon Degrelle who denied the Holocaust and insisted that no Jews had been killed. Degrelle wrote his pamphlet in the form of an open letter to the Pope.
The appeals court also upheld a one year sentence imposed on Debbault’s accomplice, Adrienne Tart.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
