Holocaust Denial
The Holocaust denier British historian David Irving
In 2013, Candidate for the Crowborough city council in East Sussex from the UK Independence Party, Anna-Marie Crampton allowed herself to post anti-Semitic content on Facebook. She called the Jews “the architects of the WW2 and the Holocaust” supporting her accusation by the claim that these historical events resulted in State of Israel being created. She also directed her followers to a known anti-Semitic fabrication called “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. The party responded by expelling Anna-Marie from its ranks.
In the same year, the famous British Holocaust denier historian David Irving undertook a tour of the UK to present his new book about the head of the SS Heinrich Himmler. Because of the anti-fascist protests, the tour took place in an atmosphere close to the secret
No other cases were reported in 2013 – 2016.
Rejecting criticism, Irving in 1996 filed a defamation suit against Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust historian and consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, appointed by President Bill Clinton to the University States Holocaust Memorial Council to "help citizens confront hatred, prevent genocide, enhance human dignity and strengthen democracy." The second defendant was the publishers of Penguin Books, which published Lipstadt's books on Holocaust denial, in which she exposed Irving.
A verdict in favor of the defense was rendered in 2000. The court ruled that Irving "deliberately distorted and manipulated historical evidence" because of his own ideological beliefs. The court's verdict said that "the plaintiff is anti-Semitic and racist, and that he is associated with right-wing extremists who promote neo-Nazism." Irving appealed the decision, but in July 2001 his motion was denied.
Meanwhile, it is a peculiarity of Britain that there is no law forbidding Holocaust denial. All the more significant was the conviction of the far-right musician, who, according to anti-Semitic activists, set a precedent for future convictions of Holocaust deniers in Britain. Judge Christopher Hare upheld the conviction of Alison Chablo, who was found guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London last year on three counts of sending highly offensive messages via social media. She posted three self-written songs there in which she denounced an alleged Jewish conspiracy to dominate the world and denied the Holocaust. The case effectively delivered a landmark precedent verdict on incitement on social media and whether the law considers Holocaust denial "grossly offensive."
Chablo was originally sentenced to 20 weeks in prison suspended for two years, as well as 180 hours of unpaid community service and a one-year ban on social media. She was formally convicted of insulting Jews, but Reading her judgment at Southwark Crown Court in south London, Judge Hehir said that the court should not consider "absurdity or fiction" in cases of Holocaust denial, and added that "we draw judicial attention to the fact that the Holocaust happened."
The London-based NGO Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, acting on behalf of British Jews, initially brought a private prosecution against Chablo, which was then taken up by the Crown Prosecution Service. NGO spokesman Gideon Falter said: "This is the first conviction in Britain for Holocaust denial on social media. The Crown Court is a court of record, which means that its decision upholding a previous magistrates' court decision sets a new precedent in British law. "Many brave British patriots died to defeat the Nazis. Alison Chabloz is not a patriot, and her actions defending the Nazis and claiming that the Holocaust was a fraud are designed to tarnish their sacrifice. This suggestion sends a strong message that Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are unacceptable in Britain."
