German appeal court reduces fine on Holocaust-denier bishop

Jul 11, 2011, 13:20 GMT

Regensburg, Germany - A German appellate court reduced Monday the fine imposed on Richard Williamson, a bishop of a fundamentalist Catholic group, for denying the Holocaust.

It fined him 6,500 euros (9,230 dollars) for incitement to hatred, which under German law includes any claim that the Holocaust did not happen. Williamson told a TV interviewer in 2008 that Jews were killed, but he did not believe the Nazi gas chambers existed.

A lower court had previously fined Williamson 10,000 euros and both sides had appealed.

Williamson, a 71-year-old Englishman, is one of four bishops appointed by the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a group semi-independent of the Church. The Vatican triggered a furore when it revoked his excommunication in 2009.

Williamson's case was tried in absentia by the State Court in Regensburg, southern Germany with a lawyer representing him.

In the interview, conducted by a Swedish reporter at an SSPX seminary near the city, Williamson claimed the Nazis killed far fewer Jews than the established toll of 5 to 6 million, and there had been no gas chambers to kill them.

At the Regensburg hearing, prosecutors had sought in vain to have Williamson's earlier fine increased.

Williamson's lawyer contended that the bishop had not broken German law because his remarks were not intended for broadcast in Germany.

The Williamson case embarrassed the Catholic church. Vatican officials say Pope Benedict XVI was caught on the wrong foot by the 2009 controversy as he had not known about the statements at the time when he revoked the four SSPX bishops' excommunication.