Here is the newest media release from the Australian-based Adelaide Institute regarding the upcoming trial of Dr. Fredrick Toben, whose trial is to run on November 8, 10, 11, and 15:
DR FREDRICK TOBEN TO STAND TRIAL IN LANDGERICHT (COUNTY COURT)MANNHEIM, GERMANY, ON NOVEMBER 8, 1999
DR Fredrick Toben, who was arrested in Mannheim, Germany, by Hans-Heiko Klein and superintendant Mohr on April 8, 1999, on a charge of "defaming the memory of the dead" , 'incitement to hatred'and other charges, and who is also Director of the revisioniost website, Adelaide Institute, at <http;//www.adam.com.au/fredadin>, is to be tried at the Landgericht or County Court at Mannheim, Germany, starting November 8, 1999. According to German law, no questioning of the orthodox story of the Holocaust is permissable: it is a federal offense to do so, and thus Germans cannot assess or examine this part of their real or alleged history to check the veracity of the claims.
RAISES SEVERAL ISSUES:
One of the issues is that of ENTRAPMENT. This arrest arose out of a private conversation between Toben and (the two above-named) German officials. At no time did Toben conduct rallies, speeches or even ordinary conversations with ordinary German citizens that cast any doubt on holocaust events. Claims of 'incitement to hatred' about a discussion between Toben and other people are thus unsustainable. (The meeting was not public - it took place in Klein's office!)
FREE SPEECH ON THE INTERNET
George Orwell said that free speech means the right to say what other people do not wish to hear. Unless free speech is absolute, it is not free speech: it is conditioned speech or suppressed speech. The issue is that of free speech, not whether or not others agree or disagree with the viewpoint.
From the viewpoint of free speech, individuals who access Adelaide Institute website should have the chance to weigh and consider the merits of its viewpoint, and accept or reject it for themselves, without Big Brother determining its acceptability for them. This comes at a time when the Alston bill to censor free speech on the Internet has been cleared in the Australian Parliament and will come into operation next year.
INTERNET INTERNATIONAL NOT GERMAN-OWNED
The German government takes the view that downloading Adelaide Institute (documents) in Germany makes it German and thus subject to German law. This is like saying that something made in England which is sold in France automatically becomes French.
But cyberspace is an international medium,transcending national boundaries.
LEGAL IN AUSTRALIA
Dr Toben's revisionist viewpoints, and those of Adelaide Institute are legal in Australia, and it is a violation of Dr Toben's rights as an Australian citizen to be arrested over the issue. The Australian government has a moral obligation to demand his release as an Australian citizen. Instead, it only extends normal consular assistance to him.
These are some of the issues raised by the Toben trial which deserve attention; PLEASE GIVE THE MATTER SOME PUBLICITY.
Geoff. Muirden, Acting Director, Adelaide Institute (adinstitute@hotmail.com)
Mannheim Court telephone is 011-49-621-2920 and fax 011-49-621-292-1141
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Thought for the Day:
"In the next century, nations as we know them will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single, global authority. National sovereignty wasn't such a great idea after all."
- Strobe Talbot, Clinton's Deputy Secretary of State, as quoted in Time, July 20th, l992.
Back to Table of Contents of the Oct. 1999 ZGrams