Hungarian FM says gov't to make Holocaust denial a crime
BUDAPEST, Hungary - Hungary plans to make denial of the Holocaust a crime, the foreign minister said Monday.The proposal is part of a wider government review of the penal code in an effort to make laws against hate crimes and racially motivated crimes more effective.
"The objective of the modification is to close the legal loopholes used by those making anti-Semitic statements," Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs told a news conference.
Details of the law would be revealed after the government presents its draft in Parliament for general debate, likely at the end of the month.
The proposed changes would also make it possible for the state to take people to court for hate speech. Such speech already is illegal in Hungary, but the state can as of now only act if someone reports the crime to authorities.
"This is also against anti-Gypsy and xenophobic expressions. I would like Hungarian democracy not to be distorted by such statements," Kovacs added.
Last week, the Association of Hungarian Journalists reprehended the producers of "Big Brother," a commercial television reality show for broadcasting a segment during which a participant made racist statements about former Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The segment was broadcast only on the Internet.
Police regularly confiscate signs with racist slogans held by soccer fans during matches in the local league.
Kovacs said he first announced the government's intentions during a meeting last week in New York with international Jewish organizations.
Kovacs said Germany and Austria have laws which make denial of the Holocaust a crime.
"So maybe it is not a coincidence that Hungary is in the range of countries, where even today there is a need for" such a law, Kovacs said.
By The Associated Press