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Holocaust denier ordered offline

By Sarah
Crichton
September 18 2002

Australian Jews have won a landmark ruling ordering an Adelaide man to
stop publishing racially offensive material on the Internet.

Frederick Toben, a former schoolteacher and the country's foremost
Holocaust denier, has seven days to strip his Web site of material
vilifying Jews.

In the mould of infamous British Holocaust denier David Irving, Toben
claims the mass-gassing of concentration camp inmates never happened.

Jeremy Jones, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry,
which brought the action, said the ruling was "a stunning victory" against
organised racism, with international implications for the Internet's
use.

The case would not end racism in Australia, nor hate material on the
Internet, but provided a useful precedent, he said.

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Toben's material did not stand up to any examination, he said.

Mr Jones's solicitor, Peter Wertheim, said the ruling was "a body blow
to racists everywhere in Australia".

Acting on a complaint from the council, the Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission ordered Toben to clear his Adelaide Institute Web
site of material denying the Holocaust two years ago. But the HREOC has no
power to enforce its decisions so the council took the matter to the
Federal Court.

Announcing her findings, Justice Catherine Branson ruled Toben had
acted unlawfully under the Racial Discrimination Act and said she was
satisfied the material on the Web site was likely to offend, insult,
humiliate and intimidate Jewish Australians.

Toben had attempted to argue that the legal action raised important
freedom-of-speech issues but those issues had already been addressed when
the Australian Parliament enacted the law, Justice Branson said.

Toben, who spent seven months in a German prison over his Holocaust
denial, was ordered to pay the Jewish council's costs.

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