'Holocaust denier' faces extradition hearing

An Australian historian wanted in Germany for alleged Holocaust denial will face an extradition hearing today.

Dr Fredrick Toben, 64, was arrested at London's Heathrow Airport on October 1 amid allegations that he published material on the internet “of an anti-Semitic and/or revisionist nature”.

At a previous extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Toben was greeted with a Nazi salute from one of his supporters in the public gallery.

The historian was detained by Scotland Yard’s extradition unit following an EU warrant issued by the District Court in Mannheim, Germany.

He was arrested while in transit from the United States to Dubai.

It is alleged that between 2000 and 2004, Toben posted information online that denied, approved of or played down the mass murder of six million Jews by the Nazis.

Lawyers for the German-born historian have expressed their intention to question the validity of the EU warrant.

Speaking after his last court appearance, Toben’s solicitor, Kevin Lowry-Mullins, said: “The issue is this: should someone who has committed an offence in a foreign country, but doesn’t commit an offence in the UK, be extradited to that country?

“He is being requested by the German government to be extradited back to Germany for an offence which is not a criminal offence in this country. This is not about Holocaust denial; it is about the process of extradition law in this country.”