Law Student in England: "Zundel Trial In Germany -- A Farce!"

zgrams at zgrams.zundelsite.org zgrams at zgrams.zundelsite.org
Tue Nov 15 10:42:11 EST 2005








Good Morning - once more! - from the Zundelsite:

I sent out a brief excerpt titled "On the Eve of the Holocaust Trial 
# 3" where Ernst Zundel comments briefly on his historic role in what 
I urge everybody from now on to call the "Holocaust Heresy Trial". 
It seems that some did not receive it - therefore, I am sending it 
again, followed by the comments of a young law student in England. 

We are living in history-making times, folks!  Big time!

Here is that piece again:

[START]

[written by Ernst Zundel to his wife, Ingrid Rimland]

What I wanted to tell you is that yesterday one of our attorneys 
came, in response to a pretty stern letter I had written about steps 
undertaken, I thought, prematurely.  We had some spirited, 
heart-to-heart conversation and cleared up some misunderstandings.

I was mollified by the presentation and the steps that were explained 
to me, and what was planned - and already undertaken.  Finally a 
defense team seems to be jelling that does justice to the historical 
and political situation as we find it here.

Actually, it amazed me what kind of information is still available 
here!  Europe is still Europe!  There is an understanding of history 
and culture as well as comparative religions that is so far superior 
to anything that we were exposed to in North America.

Ingrid, the researchers our attorneys obviously have access to are of 
a depth and a relentless logic that is overwhelming.  Scary, even! I 
was shown a compilation of statements by philosophers, musicians, 
statesmen, kings, emperors and military men that left me speechless!

I am beginning to appreciate that, in order to lift this struggle out 
of the Canadian backwaters, I just had to come here, because only 
here is the repository of all this knowledge.  It goes back millennia!

It's amazing to see fine European minds, products of European 
universities, tackle the problems I tackled like some outcast, having 
to rely [in Canada] entirely on my own informal, faulty training. 
You can see that the same issues of my own intuitive feel are given a 
proper upgrading and bringing-into-focus.

You will be proud - and the money is well worth it.  I now understand 
the reason and context.  It's destiny, Ingrid.  We are tools.

[END]

Here is the young law student from England:

[START]

Zundel Trial In Germany -- A Farce!

  1 It seems relevant to start by mentioning two fundamental maxims of 
justice: Nemo iudex in causa sua ('no man should be judge in his own 
cause')  & audi alteram partem ('hear the other side', ie that both 
sides should be  given a fair hearing). It seems to me that the judge 
is biased. He is not  willing to hear what the defence has to say. 
Instead he wants to 'shut them  up'. And he clearly considers the 
Prosecution's cause as his own. He thus  has a 'stake' in the trial, 
an interest in Ernst  Zundel being found guilty.

  He is therefore inherently biased.

  2 By Art 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights & Fundamental 
Freedoms  every person has a right to a fair trial. The Federal 
Republic of Germany is  a signatory to the Convention and is 
therefore obliged to abide by it.

Art 6  states that:

  ARTICLE 6 1 In the determination of [...] any criminal charge 
against him, everyone is  entitled to a fair and public hearing 
within a reasonable time by an  independent and impartial tribunal 
established by law. Judgement shall be  pronounced publicly by the 
press and public may be excluded from all or part  of the trial in 
the interest of morals, public order or national security in  a 
democratic society, where the interests of juveniles or the 
protection of  the private life of the parties so require, or the 
extent strictly necessary  in the opinion of the court in special 
circumstances where publicity would  prejudice the interests of 
justice.

  2 Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed 
innocent until  proved guilty according to law.

3 Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum 
rights: [...] ? (c) to defend himself in person or through legal 
assistance of his own  choosing [...]; ? (d) to examine or have 
examined witnesses against him and to obtain the  attendance and 
examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same  conditions as 
witnesses against him;

  I have underlined the relevant phrases. The right to a fair trial in 
section  1 of Art 6 is an 'absolute right', meaning that no matter 
what the  circumstances everyone has a right to a fair trial (whereas 
s. 3 is a  'relative right', meaning that it may be limited if it be 
legitimate to do  so in the circumstances). It has been stated above 
that the judge in the  Zundel case is biased in the sense that the 
court was not an 'independent  and impartial tribunal'. It is further 
submitted that the result of this  would be that Zundel would not get 
a 'fair and public hearing' within Art  6(1). The court is therefore 
in breach of its obligations under Art 6(1). I  suspect that Mr. 
Zundel's legal team would appeal to the European Court of  Human 
Rights in Strasburg if all else fails.

  3 Moreover, it is noted that by Art 6(3)(c) Herr Zundel has a right 
to  choose his own legal team. This is not within the jurisdiction of 
the German  court. This is also true in relation to leading counsel's 
assistant. The  court is therefore ultra vires (beyond its powers) 
and its ruling on the  matter is null and void. I suspect that also 
in this regard Ernst Zundel's  legal team will seek to appeal to the 
higher courts, and, failing this, to  the Court in Strasburg.

  4 On a different note, there is a problem if Ernst Zundell's defence 
would be  in breach of §130 of the Penal Code by defending their 
client to the best of  their ability because advocates are obliged by 
their professional codes to  defend their clients fearlessly and to 
the best of their ability. More  importantly, if certain kinds of 
evidence cannot be admitted in court due to  a general prohibition 
against displaying such material in public, how can  the accused have 
a fair trial?

  5 Judges are not, it is submitted, competent to rule on what is 
historical  fact. If the judge in question wished to establish an 
historical fact  (whatever that is) the proper way to go about it, in 
my opinion, would have  been to call expert evidence. I say in my 
opinion, but I do think that any  person with sound judgment would 
adopt the same opinion on this matter.  This attitude of the judge 
also reveals his prejudice against the defence.

  6 I can think of no good reason why Ernst Zundel should be kept in 
custody  while an important question of law is being decided in the 
Constitutional  Court. The case will surely take a very long time, 
perhaps more than a year.  The court would need to have very good 
reasons to justify keeping an accused  person (cf. Art 6(2), above: 
everyone is innocent until proven guilty) in  custody for a 
substantial length of time. For example, the court would have  to 
hear evidence that Mr. Zundel is very likely to flee Germany. Not 
just  that he might, but that he is very likely to. However, it seems 
to me that  the Regional Court decided the matter simply on a whim. 
This, again, is  contrary to the Convention (see Art 5).

  7 In conclusion,  I would say that the trial of Ernst Zundel is an 
absolute  outrage. Whether one sympathizes with his views or not, it 
is most  unsatisfactory that a person is denied his right to a fair 
trial because of  his beliefs. If this is truly the state of affairs 
in Germany, then  hypocrisy and, indeed, tyranny must have gained the 
upper hand in that  so-called democratic republic. I am absolutely 
outraged about this. Next  time a German politician speaks of 
democracy and human rights, please ask  him to ditch the rhetoric 
and, ahem,  shove it up his a**. 

  Yours sincerely,

  Patrick Boch,

  Student of Law,

  England.

[END]

   
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