From the Oz:

Group ordered to stop Holocaust-denial
February 02, 2007

THE leader of a New South Wales-based group known as the Bible Believers’ Church has been ordered to remove material from his website denying the Holocaust took place.

The Federal Court today found that Anthony Grigor-Scott, whose church is based at Tamworth in NSW, was in breach of the Racial Discrimination Act in posting anti-Semitic material on a website newsletter.

The complaint was brought by Jeremy Jones, who was president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) when the material first appeared in 2005.

The hearings brought to remove it have run since September 2005.

In the judgment handed down today, Justice Richard Conti ordered Mr Grigor-Scott to remove claims Jewish people deliberately exaggerated the number of Jews killed during World War II for improper purposes, including financial gain.

He also ordered the removal of material denying the existence of gas chambers in the German concentration camp in Auschwitz.

Justice Conti ruled that Mr Grigor-Scott should be restrained from publishing similar material in the future, particularly his claim that there was serious doubt that the Holocaust occurred.

Mr Jones had argued the material constituted a public act which caused offence, insult, humiliation and/or intimidation to Jewish Australians, and failed to fall into any of the legal categories which might permit its publication.

Welcoming today’s decision, Mr Jones said: “It is a sad reality that a small number of individuals within Australia promote prejudice, discrimination, fear and harassment, and it is positive that we have laws which provide a measure of relief for victims of their actions.”

Lawyer Steven Lewis, who acted for Mr Jones, said the ruling sent a clear message to Holocaust deniers that they could not use the internet “to spread hatred and racial vilification of fellow Australians”.

“This decision reaffirms the Australian belief in a fair go and that no one should be persecuted because of their religious or racial background,” Mr Lewis said.

Mr Grigor-Scott could not be immediately contacted for comment.

Today’s ruling comes ahead of the appearance next week in the Federal Court of Fredrick Toben, the controversial Holocaust denier, who recently travelled to Iran to attend an international conference of Holocaust deniers.

Professor Toben is expected to appear in court to defend himself against contempt charges alleging he has failed to remove anti-Semitic and racial material from his website as ordered by the Federal Court.