Dr
Fred Toben to Stand Trial in Germany on
November 8Adelaide,
Australia, Oct 17
-- The Adelaide
Institute revisionist
website has
announced that is director Dr
Frederick Toben is to stand
trial in Mannheim, Germany, on November
8 [1999].
Toben was arrested on April 8 in the
offices of chief prosecutor
Hans-Heiko Klein, described by
some as Germany's "modern day Roland
Freisler", by superintendant
Mohr on a charge of "defaming
the memory of the dead" , 'incitement
to hatred'and other charges.
Under German law, no questioning is
permitted of the orthodox story of the
Holocaust: it is a criminal federal
offense to do so.
According to the Institute, the
trial raises several issues.
One is that of ENTRAPMENT. This
arrest arose out of a private
conversation between Toben and two
German officials. At no time did Toben
conduct rallies, speeches, or even
conversations with ordinary German
citizens casting doubt on the currently
accepted version of events. Claims of
'incitement to hatred' are thus
unsustainable
Another issue is FREE SPEECH ON THE
INTERNET. "George Orwell," points out
the Institute, "once said that free
speech means the right to say what
other people do not wish to hear."
Unless free speech is absolute, it
is not free speech: it is conditioned
speech or suppressed speech. The issue
is that of free speech, not whether or
not others agree or disagree with the
viewpoint.
From the viewpoint of free speech,
individuals who access Institute
website should have the chance to weigh
and consider its merit, without
Orwell's "Big Brother" determining its
acceptability for them.
This comes at a time when the Alston
bill to censor free speech on the
Internet has been cleared in the
Australian Parliament and will come
into force next year.
Third, the Internet is
international, not owned by Germany.
The German government takes the view
that downloading files from the
Australia-based Adelaide Institute onto
a computer screen in Germany makes it
subject to German law. This is like
saying that something made in England
which is sold in France automatically
becomes French.
Fourth, Toben's robust political
views are quite legal in Australia. His
arrest states the Institute, is a
violation of Dr Toben's rights. The
Australian government has an obligation
to demand his release. So far, it has
only extended normal consular
assistance to him.
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to David Irving
