Honsik sentenced to 18 months for Holocaust denial

Austrian author Gerd Honsik has been ordered to serve an 18 month sentence in Austria for the thoughtcrime of Holocaust denial. Honsik fled to Spain after being convicted on what amounts to a thoughtcrime 15 years ago.

Honsik, who is now 67 years old, must serve out the sentence handed down in 1992. The Austrian court has rejected his plea for leniency because of his age and a kidney ailment. The court also turned down a request by the prosecution to make Honsik serve even more time.

The charges against Honsik stem from his writings that defended Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Between 1986 and 1989, Honsik published writings disputing the alleged murder of 6 million Jews during World War II. Vienna's public prosecutor's office said Honsik still faced possible charges for articles he published in print and online while a fugitive in Spain.

Honsik was captured in southern Spain in August and extradited in October. He fled after being convicted of denying the Holocaust of Europe's Jews and asserting that the Nazis never used gas chambers — grounds for criminal prosecution in the once democratic Austria.

Austria's law making it a crime to deny the Holocaust or promote Nazi propaganda applies to “whoever denies, grossly plays down, approves or tries to excuse the National Socialist genocide or other National Socialist crimes against humanity in a print publication, in broadcast or other media.”

In Austria, thought crimes and political crimes are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.