Germany wants h0Ɩ0cαųst denial to be EU-wide crime
08 January 2007, 17:29 CET

(BERLIN) - Germany wants to make h0Ɩ0cαųst denial punishable by law in every member state of the European Union during its current presidency of the bloc, Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Monday.

"Denial of the h0Ɩ0cαųst is an example of what would be punishable by law if standardization took place," Zypries said at a press conference to present the German government's programme on justice matters for the next six months.

Previous attempts to unify legal standards for h0Ɩ0cαųst denial and other xenophobic attacks were blocked by Italy, but the new Italian government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi has dropped its opposition, Zypries said.

Among EU members, laws against denying the slaughter of six million Jєωs by the nαzιs in World War II exist in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Spain.

In a recent high-profile case, controversial British historian David Irving spent 13 months in jail in Austria for challenging the h0Ɩ0cαųst before being released last month.

Germany took over the rotating six-month presidency of the 27-country EU on January 1.

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