Irving charged over Holocaust denial

| Tuesday, 22 November 2005 Source: Sky News

Formal charges have been filed in Austria against David Irving for allegedly denying the Holocaust took place.

The UK historian was arrested on November 11 on a warrant issued in 1989.

He is being held after allegedly violating an Austrian law which makes Holocaust denial a crime, a prosecutor said

The charges stem from speeches Mr Irving made in 1989 in Vienna and in the southern town of Leoben.

During the speeches he denied the existence of the gas chambers during the Second World War, prosecutors said.

Mr Irving has insisted that Adolf Hitler knew nothing about the systematic slaughter of six million Jews in the Holocaust.

He has been quoted as saying there was "not one shred of evidence" the Nazis carried out their "Final Solution" on such a scale.

He was arrested while on a one-day visit to the country.

Irving, 67, is in custody in Vienna and has the right to appeal against the charges.

A detention hearing will be held on Friday to determine whether he should be held in custody for up to four more weeks.

It is unclear when any trial would start, but he could be imprisoned for 10 years if convicted.