Holocaust denier in court after decade dodging justice

BERLIN - One of the world's most notorious Holocaust deniers who used the internet to praise Adolf Hitler, went on trial in Germany at the climax of a 10-year battle by the country to bring the white supremacist to justice.

Ernst Zundel, a friend of the British Holocaust denier David Irving and author of books such as The Auschwitz Lie, was extradited from Canada and flown to Frankfurt in March.

Yesterday, the 66-year-old German appeared in court in Mannheim to face charges of incitement to racial hatred, libel and accusations he had used "pseudo scientific methods" to deny the existence of the Holocaust - which is a criminal offence in Germany.

Zundel was also accused of spreading biased views through books and his website, the "Zundelseite", which is regularly visited by white supremacists and Nazi sympathisers worldwide. If convicted, he could face a maximum 5-year jail term.

After emigrating from Germany to Canada in the 1950s, Zundel set up Samisdat Publishing, which became a distributor of Nazi propaganda. Despite Germany's efforts to extradite him, Zundel was able to claim immunity because of his Canadian residency. Prosecutors obtained a warrant for his arrest in 2003 after judges ruled that as his website could be read in Germany, he could be brought to trial there. Last March Canada judged Zundel a security threat and ordered his deportation to Germany.

- INDEPENDENT