Holocaust Denial Cases and Freedom of Expression in the United States
Holocaust Denial Cases and Freedom of Expression in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom By Charla Marie Boley Submitted to Central European University, Department of Legal Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of … M.A. in Human Rights Supervisor: Professor Vladimir Petrovic Budapest, Hungary 2016 CEU eTD Collection Copyright 2016 Central European University CEU eTD Collection i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Freedom of expression is an internationally recognized fundamental right, crucial to open societies and democracy. Therefore, when the right is utilized to proliferate hate speech targeted at especially vulnerable groups of people, societies face the uncomfortable question of how and when to limit freedom of expression. Holocaust denial, as a form of hate speech, poses such a problem. This particular form of hate speech creates specific problems unique to its “field” in that perpetrators cloak their rhetoric under a screen of academia and that initial responses typically discard it as absurd, crazy, and not worth acknowledging. The three common law jurisdictions of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom all value free speech and expression, but depending on national legislation and jurisprudence approach the question of Holocaust denial differently. The three trials of Holocaust deniers Zundel, Irving, and the the Institute for Historical Review, a pseudo academic organization, caught the public’s attention with a significant amount of sensationalism. The manner in which the cases unfolded and their aftermath demonstrate that Holocaust denial embodies anti-Semitism and is a form of hate speech. Furthermore, examination of trial transcripts, media response, and existing scholarship, shows that combating denial in courtrooms can have the unintended consequence of further radicalizing deniers and swaying more to join their ranks.
[Show full text]