DAVID IRVING FREED !Holocaust denier to be released
David Irving says he has changed his views on the HolocaustAn Austrian court has ruled that UK historian David Irving - jailed for denying the Holocaust - should be released on probation.
The court had heard calls for both a reduction and increase in the three-year sentence.
Irving was convicted in February in a case that sparked international debate about the limits of freedom of speech.
In 1989 he spoke in Austria denying the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz, though he later said he was "mistaken".
Irving on Wednesday welcomed his release and said he was "fit and well".
He said he would urge an academic boycott of historians from Germany and Austria until the nations stopped jailing historians.
"I was put in prison for three years for expressing an opinion 17 years ago," he said.
Intense debate
The BBC's Kerry Skyring in Vienna said the presiding judge converted the remaining two years of Irving's jail term to a provisional sentence, upholding his appeal.
The conditions of the probation are not yet known, including whether Irving will be able to leave Austria.
COUNTRIES WITH LAWS AGAINST HOLOCAUST DENIAL
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Israel
Lithuania
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Switzerland
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Israel
Lithuania
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Switzerland
But his lawyer, Herbert Schaller, said: "He is free, and he can leave, and he will leave."
Both the prosecution and defence had challenged the length of the sentence. The crime carries a prison term of up to 10 years.
The 1992 law targets "whoever denies, grossly plays down, approves or tries to excuse the National Socialist genocide".
Irving, 68, was arrested in November last year on a motorway in southern Austria. He was visiting to give a lecture to a far-right student fraternity.
Both the prosecution and defence had challenged the length of the sentence. The crime carries a prison term of up to 10 years.
The 1992 law targets "whoever denies, grossly plays down, approves or tries to excuse the National Socialist genocide".
Irving, 68, was arrested in November last year on a motorway in southern Austria. He was visiting to give a lecture to a far-right student fraternity.
The conviction had sparked intense debate with supporters saying it was fully justified but opponents arguing it undermined the right of freedom of speech.
At the initial trial, Irving had said it was "ridiculous" he was being tried for expressing an opinion and that he had changed his views on the Holocaust.
NWN : Of course this is good news ! But the picture of Irving makes him look a very ill man. That is very bad and sad.
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