David Duke arrested in Prague for Holocaust Denial

[Stegura]

David Duke arrested in Prague for Holocaust Denial


Arriving in the Czech Republic at the invitation of local neo-Nazis, Duke was to give lectures in Prague and Brno.

Duke, a U.S. citizen, is suspected of denying or approving of the Nazi genocide and other Nazi crimes. This crime is punishable by up to three years in prison in the Czech Republic.

According to an Internet text signed by Filip Vavra, who is linked to the neo-Nazi National Resistance group, Duke has visited the Czech Republic in order to promote his book My Awakening.

Czech lawyer Klara Kalibova said some passages of the book can be interpreted as an effort at justifying or challenging the Holocaust.

http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-police-arrest-former-ku-klux-klan-leader-duke/373167

[Electronic God-Man]

I wish we could see the parts of the book in question so as to get a better idea of whether or not the accusation is even true.

Regardless, I don't think it should be illegal though.

[Loki]

Whether one likes David Duke or not, or approve of his views or not, isn't the issue. The fact that someone gets arrested for having an opinion is appalling.

[Psychonaut]

Whether one likes David Duke or not, or approve of his views or not, isn't the issue. The fact that someone gets arrested for having an opinion is appalling.

Agreed. I have a question for the non-Americans here: do your nations protect free speech, or do they have laws against 'hate speech'?

[Jamt]

Swedish law do not convict for expressing your opinion, supposedly. There are hate laws concerning incitement towards violence, which is ok in my opinion if used fairly, which it is not. Do correct this if anybody knows more about Swedish law.

[Atlas]

Agreed. I have a question for the non-Americans here: do your nations protect free speech, or do they have laws against 'hate speech'?


EVERY European state has hate speech laws. We've lived WWII, we do not want to live this nightmare one more time. :(


:D

[Hors]

They are going to enact a law in Russia which will provide serious punishment for foreign nationals bullshitting about the USSR in WWII. It will make us able to accomodate most of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, many Poles and some TA members in Siberia and occupy them for years with cleaning off the snow :)

[Sarmata]

David Duke arrested in Prague for Holocaust Denial



http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-police-arrest-former-ku-klux-klan-leader-duke/373167


Czechs has completly crazy law...it is almost paranoical I know something about that:rolleyes: When once , with my friends we tried to cross Polish-Czechian border(few years ago in fact and before "Shengen"), Czechian customs officiers check our t-shirts and blouses, they sought some forbiden symbols etc.:D For the other side they're very "progressive" and as first country from ex-pro/soviet block Czechs(they gorvernment correctly) allow to homosexual marriages.

[Osweo]

They are going to enact a law in Russia which will provide serious punishment for foreign nationals bullshitting about the USSR in WWII. It will make us able to accomodate most of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, many Poles and some TA members in Siberia and occupy them for years with cleaning off the snow :)

Can I be Kommandant? POZHALUISTA! :D I love it out in Sibir. :thumb001:

[Stegura]

Since David Duke isn't a citizen of the Czech Republic or of the EU how long can they legally hold him in jail for? Don't they have to eventually release him back to the US?

[Psychonaut]

Since David Duke isn't a citizen of the Czech Republic or of the EU how long can they legally hold him in jail for? Don't they have to eventually release him back to the US?

As far as I understand, foreigners are jailed in most nations all the time. There are tons of Mexican nationals in American jails as we speak, imprisoned for crimes committed on American soil. The only way he'd be released from his sentence there into US custody would be if the US pushed for that. I don't know about you, but I don't see that happening.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Since David Duke isn't a citizen of the Czech Republic or of the EU how long can they legally hold him in jail for? Don't they have to eventually release him back to the US?

Doubtful. Gerhard Lauck, and American NS leader, was in jail in Germany for some time, and David Irving, a British Historian, was in an Austrian jail for a few years.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Latest update appears to be that he has been released but given until midnight to leave the country

[Brynhild]

Has it ever occurred to anybody that he violated the laws and customs of the said country? I'm assuming, of course, that what he got thrown in the nick for was to be true.

None of us like it if a foreigner comes into our backyard and starts telling us that this, that or the other didn't happen - especially when we would be of the belief that the opposite is documented as supporting otherwise.

I don't agree with the suppression of speech laws, but this isn't the issue here. Even if what he has to say may be true, it's not his place to throw it up in the face of a nation that welcomed him into their country - especially a place like the Czech republic.

Maybe This (http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres_east.html) - and other such stories like it - is still ingrained in the memories of the older generation who survived WW2.

[Electronic God-Man]

Has it ever occurred to anybody that he violated the laws and customs of the said country? I'm assuming, of course, that what he got thrown in the nick for was to be true.

None of us like it if a foreigner comes into our backyard and starts telling us that this, that or the other didn't happen - especially when we would be of the belief that the opposite is documented as supporting otherwise.

I don't agree with the suppression of speech laws, but this isn't the issue here. Even if what he has to say may be true, it's not his place to throw it up in the face of the nation that welcomed him into their country.

Free speech is free speech. Period.

If the nation espouses "free speech" then they should follow it, regardless.

[Brynhild]

Free speech is free speech. Period.

If the nation espouses "free speech" then they should follow it, regardless.

Emphasis on the word if.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Has it ever occurred to anybody that he violated the laws and customs of the said country?


They're stupid laws though, especially for a country that just came out from under the yoke of the soviets

[Brynhild]

They're stupid laws though, especially for a country that just came out from under the yoke of the soviets

I've never said anything to the contrary. I was trying to point out that you don't go into a country without some prior knowledge of what you're up against. Especially if the subject matter is the Holocaust.

[SwordoftheVistula]

I've never said anything to the contrary. I was trying to point out that you don't go into a country without some prior knowledge of what you're up against. Especially if the subject matter is the Holocaust.

Getting arrested for something written in a book is not the type of thing you expect to encounter in western countries. It's the type of thing you'd expect from Iran or North Korea, not a western country.

[Óttar]

@Brynhild

The difference is he wrote whatever passages the Czechs are referring to in My Awakening on American soil. It's ludicrous to throw him in jail for merely landing over there.

That's about as ridiculous as the Israeli agent "nazi hunters" that come into another sovereign territory (i.e. Argentina, other South American countries) and kidnap former nazis. I.e. They are extending their authority into an area to which they have no right.

[Brynhild]

I'm going to clarify this as best as I'm able, but given that I seem to have walked in on some boys' club that gives you the right to behave like a pack of wolves in this instance, I will reply with dignity and restraint.


Free speech is free speech. Period.

If the nation espouses "free speech" then they should follow it, regardless.

What, exactly, constitutes free speech in the Czech republic? I would be the first to admit that I know bugger all about their laws but how well did David Duke know about them?


They're stupid laws though, especially for a country that just came out from under the yoke of the soviets

I never once said that I agreed. Unfortunately, memories in a nation like the Czech republic in regards to Germans are horribly long - rightly or wrongly. Holocaust is such a touchy subject and one needs to tread with absolute caution in regards to substantiating what is truth and what isn't - from both sides of the political fence.


Getting arrested for something written in a book is not the type of thing you expect to encounter in western countries. It's the type of thing you'd expect from Iran or North Korea, not a western country.

Was he arrested or just simply detained? It would appear that they were just simply suspicious of his motives, because he wasn't in custody for very long. They seemed to also know that they couldn't charge him with anything, therefore he was released rather quickly.


@Brynhild

The difference is he wrote whatever passages the Czechs are referring to in My Awakening on American soil. It's ludicrous to throw him in jail for merely landing over there.

That's about as ridiculous as the Israeli agent "nazi hunters" that come into another sovereign territory (i.e. Argentina, other South American countries) and kidnap former nazis. I.e. They are extending their authority into an area to which they have no right.

Your above statement about the Nazi hunters isn't an analogy that I can connect with in this instance. Did they just throw him in the nick? They had every right to view this guy with suspicion, given his connections with the KKK to start with. He may have written his book on American soil, but he was in a country with a long and troubled history pertinent to WW2 and prior.

I never said at any time that I agree with suppression of speech laws. However, I was trying to offer a point of view in terms of hospitality extended upon him to enter the Czech republic. He was actually allowed to set foot on their nation and I think that says much. It would've been a great slap in the face for those who still live with the trauma and aftermath of WW2.

The trouble with this subject matter is, opinions are severely divided and there will never be closure, no gap breached. To be fair to David Duke, he shoud've been given a fair go in allaying any suspicions the Czechs have had about his book, but I don't believe the full story is being heard.

Why, for instance, would they allow him in (and they would've known fully well who he is), detain him and then throw him out of the country a bare 24 hours after his arrival? Something is clearly wrong here.