German trial of Holocaust-denying bishop set for July

Mar 23, 2011, 11:25 GMT

Regensburg, Germany - The German trial of British Bishop Richard Williamson over his denial of the extent of the Holocaust is to restart in July, after an eight-month postponement, the court in the southern city of Regensburg announced Wednesday.

Williamson, of the ultra-orthodox Catholic Society of St Pius X (SSPX), denied in a television interview last year that the Nazis had systematically murdered millions of Jews.

The interview, for a Swedish television channel, took place in Germany, where Holocaust denial is a criminal offence.

Williamson was fined 10,000 euros (14,200 dollars) over his remarks but the bishop and prosecutors both appealed the fine.

The trial was originally scheduled for last November, but was postponed after Williamson appointed a new lawyer to represent him in court, who needed time to familiarize himself with the documents.

It will now start again on July 4.

At the time, the bishop chose a radical right-wing lawyer to represent him, but changed his mind after the SSPX order threatened to excommunicate him.

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