Salzburg woman gets suspended sentence for Holocaust denial

ORF reports that a 58-year-old woman from Salzburg was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 months in prison, with the sentence suspended, for denying the Holocaust in an online comment.

She posted the words “Yes, the Holocaust lie” beneath an online advertisement for a discussion with a Holocaust survivor. The event was advertised on the website of a Salzburg trading company followed by more than half a million people on social media. At least one person saw the comment and filed a complaint.

When asked by the judge how she could believe that the Nazi regime’s deliberate murder of millions of Jewish people was a lie, the woman said she had been bedridden at the time and had become lost in confused theories on the internet. She said she was extremely sorry and described the comment as foolish.

She also said she had been interested in theories claiming that the Earth is flat or that the Moon landing was staged. The court noted that such theories were not criminal offences, while Holocaust denial was.

The verdict is legally binding. Her defence lawyer said the case could not be excused, but argued that it again showed how internet algorithms can deliberately reinforce users’ views, whether correct or incorrect, and lower inhibitions.