French Author Fined for Viewpoint

PARIS (AP) -- A French appeals court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of an author for a 1996 book that called into question whether 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust.

Roger Garaudy, 85, received a six-month suspended prison sentence and fines worth $21,400 for disputing facts about the Holocaust in his book, "The Founding Myths of Israeli Politics."

Garaudy, who converted to Islam in 1982, also received a three-month suspended sentence and an additional $8,000 worth of fines for inciting racial hatred.

In his book, Garaudy questioned the number of Jews killed by the Nazis in World War II, saying it was much lower than the 6 million agreed upon by historians, and denounced what he called "Shoah business" -- exploiting the Holocaust for money and political gains.

During his trial, he said he was anti-Zionist, but not anti-Semitic.

Garaudy's publisher, Pierre Guillaume, received a six-month suspended sentence and fines equivalent to $5,400.

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