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David Irving: Holocaust denier given early freedom from jail

David Irving, the British author who was released on probation after spending 13 months in prison for denying the Holocaust, returned to England on Thursday.

Vienna's highest court on Wednesday granted Irving's appeal and converted two-thirds of his sentence into probation. He had been imprisoned for 13 months.

The author, who has been indefinitely banned from Austria, spent the night in a detention center, said Willfried Kovarnik, head of Vienna's immigration police. He arrived at Heathrow on an Austrian Airlines flight Thursday evening after hours of delays due to fog in London.

In February, a Vienna court sentenced Irving to three years under a 1992 law that applies to ''whoever denies, grossly plays down, approves or tries to excuse the National Socialist genocide or other National Socialist crimes against humanity in a print publication, in broadcast or other media.''

The law calls for a prison term of up to 10 years....

Related Links

  • Austria Frees Holocaust Denier From Jail
  • Read entire article at NYT