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German Court Rejects Appeal of Elderly Holocaust Denier

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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - German Federal Constitutional Court has rejected on Friday appeal of an 89-year-old Ursula Haverbeck against her sentence for denying Holocaust, saying that this offense is not covered by free speech.

"The criminal sanctioning of the denial of the Nazi genocide is, in principle, compatible with Art. 5(1) of the Basic Law… Disseminating factual claims that are demonstrably untrue and deliberately false does not contribute to the opinion-forming process; thus, it is not covered by the freedom of expression," the court said in a press release.

At the same time, the court satisfied another similar constitutional appeal of a person, who had been fined for downplaying the Nazi genocide.

READ MORE: Protest Erupts in Germany Calling for Release of 'Nazi Grandma'

Haverbeck, a right-wing writer, publisher and a prominent figure in the German far-right scene, has repeatedly denied Holocaust in her articles, claiming that the Auschwitz concentration camp was not a death camp but a labor camp. The woman has been subject to lawsuits related to Holocaust denial, a criminal offense in German legislation, since 2004. She is now serving a two-year term in prison, ruled by a German court in May. She has been first sentenced to a 10-month prison term in November 2015.

The court explained that the condemnation would be considered only for statements that are likely to endanger the public peace.

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