Letter to "The Economist"

The Economist
25 St Jame's Street
London SW1A1HG
[email protected] 

Dear Editor

We are writing to thank you for your Jun 2nd article Free Speech Under Attack a bit late, (we get our copy of the Economist as a hand-me-down.)

It is worth noting that the current wave of censorship received a boost in 1990 with the passage of the Gayssot Act in France, Law No. 90-615 to repress acts of racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia.  

This law criminalized any extensive questioning of Holocaust history and imposed penalties of up to 5 years imprisonment.  These censorship laws spread across Europe with national legislatures showing their enthusiasm by increasing the penalties for the crime of making a public comment on history.   

Austria won with its punishment of up to twenty years in jail.

Yours for a Free Press, Free Speech, and Open Debate

David Merlin
For the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust.
P.O. Box 20774
York, PA  17402
USA
phone & fax: ++1-415-688-2129
[email protected]