http://arabnews.com/world/article106991.ece

Dutch Muslim group fined over Holocaust cartoon
By REUTERS 

Published: Aug 19, 2010 20:51 Updated: Aug 19, 2010 20:51 

AMSTERDAM: A Dutch appeals court on Thursday ruled that a Dutch Muslim group 
ought to be fined 2,500 euros ($3,200) for publishing a cartoon suggesting that 
the Holocaust was made up or exaggerated by Jews..

The court in the western city of Arnhem overruled an acquittal handed down by a 
Dutch lower court, saying the cartoon, published on the website of the Arab 
European League's (AEL) in 2006, was "unnecessarily hurtful."

"The court points out that the European Court of Human Rights, which considers 
freedom of speech of paramount importance and defends it thoroughly, makes no 
exception for the denial or trivialization of the Holocaust," the court said.

The court also imposed a 2-year probation period on the AEL.

The cartoon shows two men in Auschwitz looking at several dead bodies. "I don't 
think they are Jews," says one man. The one man replies: "We have to get to the 
6,000,000 (figure) somehow'. Six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

The Dutch group says it had no intention of disputing the Holocaust, but wanted 
instead to highlight what it described as double standards in free speech.

The AEL circulated it in 2006 after a Danish newspaper published a cartoon of 
the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which triggered an outcry among 
Muslims in many countries. 




Kirim email ke