# Holocaust Denial and Free Speech

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holocaust-denial-and-free-speech/345465>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [February 21, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holocaust-denial-and-free-speech/345465 "2006-02-21T14:07:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holocaust-denial-and-free-speech/345465/21 "2006-02-22T10:37:32Z")

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> [@yojimbo](#):
>
> Things may come to a head if Irving appeals this to the European Court of Human Rights but that is still to be seen.

It seems I was wrong about the ECHR

> [@](#):
>
> At times, Holocaust deniers seek to rely on Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression, when faced with criminal sanctions against their statements or publications. The European Court of Human Rights however consistently declares their complaints inadmissible. According to Article 17 of the Convention, nothing in the Convention may be construed so as to justify acts that are aimed at destroying any of the very rights and freedoms contained therein. Invoking free speech to propagate denial of crimes against humanity is, according to the Court’s case-law, contrary to the spirit in which the Convention was adopted in the first place. Reliance on free speech in such cases would thus constitute an abuse of a fundamental right.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust\_denial](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_denial)

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