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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 04:12 15/12/2007 French court tries far-right leader Le Pen for Nazi remarks By Reuters Tags: Rivarol, France  PARIS - Prosecutors told a court on Friday French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen should receive a suspended prison sentence and a fine for saying that the Nazi occupation of France was "not particularly inhumane". Le Pen's trial for "justification of war crimes" and "contesting crimes against humanity" opened on Friday. It centers around a comment Le Pen made in a 2005 interview with right-wing weekly magazine Rivarol, which angered the government, anti-racism organisations and Jewish groups. Advertisement The prosecution asked that Le Pen be handed a five-month suspended sentence and fined 10,000 euros ($14,530). He denies any wrongdoing and did not attend the trial. His defense team argued that his remarks were not part of an interview but of a casual conversation. "In France, at least, the German occupation was not particularly inhumane, although there were some blunders, inevitable in a country of 550,000 sq km," he was quoted as saying in the magazine. During the Nazi German occupation of France from 1940 until 1944, about 76,000 Jews were deported. Only 2,500 returned. French anti-racism laws have made denying the Holocaust a crime, punishable by fines or imprisonment. The prosecution also requested that the head of Rivarol magazine, Marie-Luce Wacquez, be handed a two-month suspended prison sentence and be fined 5,000 euros, and that the journalist who conducted the interview be fined 3,500 euros. Le Pen, who stunned France in the 2002 presidential election when he finished second, suffered a crushing blow in this year's April presidential ballot when he finished fourth with less than 11 percent backing - his worst showing since the 1974 vote. In June, his National Front party failed to win a single seat in legislative elections, meaning the loss of state funding that may force Le Pen to sell his party's Paris headquarters. The Paris court is due to announce its verdict on Feb. 8 Bookmark to del.icio.us Religious discrimination Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch rejects Israel's Jewish identity in a pre-Christmas speech. Patriot protection The IDF successfully tested an improved defense missile in anticipation of attacks.   1.   Did he break the law? 22:52  |  1 state solution 14/12/07   2.   1 state solution 01:06  |  A.M. 15/12/07   3.   1state solution 01:08  |  A.M. 15/12/07   4.   Nazi remarks 01:42  |  James West 15/12/07   5.   Its obvious only tiny % of Germans had anything to do w Holocaust 03:33  |  1 state solution 15/12/07   6.   `1 state solution` is just a PC way of saying `destroy Israel` 04:07  |  Steve Randolph 15/12/07   7.   Hey James and the other idiots here: Holocaust denial =HATEspeech 04:11  |  Steve Randolph 15/12/07   8.   Naturally the `1 state solution` guy says holocaust denial is OK 04:12  |  Steve Randolph 15/12/07   9.   Steve Randolph 04:23  |  Philippe 15/12/07   10.   Le Pen`s comments 04:29  |  Philippe 15/12/07   11.   # 8 to steve randolph in BOSTON 05:54  |  eric 15/12/07   12.   twilight zone 06:42  |  Mark 15/12/07   13.   #1 06:55  |  danny 15/12/07   14.   Eric: Settle down, Beavis 07:05  |  Steve Randolph 15/12/07   15.   # 1 07:08  |  Philippe 15/12/07   16.   "1 state solution", you`re right, let`s leave le Pen alone 07:12  |  Jake 15/12/07   17.   Get the context right ! 08:07  |  Iris 15/12/07   18.   Tiny percentage? 08:32  |  sweis Melbourne 15/12/07   19.   Goldhagens book 08:53  |  sweis Melbourne 15/12/07   20.   French President 09:58  |  Dav 15/12/07   21.   Holocaust denial 21:01  |  Nate 15/12/07   22.   holocaust observence 03:52  |  Simon Trent 16/12/07   23.   1 State Solution 17:53  |  Albert Seligman 16/12/07   24.   Denial 12:05  |  Demo West 17/12/07   25.   am 2 13:24  |  realism 17/12/07   26.   steve randolph 8 13:29  |  realism 17/12/07

Today Online Experts: Far right will up violence in future settlement evacuation Responses: 29 Arab group seeks supranational regime in 'historic Palestine' Responses: 49 Harel: Palestinians' national pride trumps personal well-being Send response Strenger: the terms 'Zionist' and 'post Zionist' obscure the issues Send response Falafel recipe painted on West Bank fence as part of protest Responses: 69 Rosner's Domain Huckabee can 'live with a contained Iran' (What to Read) Rabin's long memory and the U.S. NIE report on Iran Guest: Leader of the Zionist Organization of America on post-Annapolis Mideast Without the Reform movement in Israel, there's no Reform movement More Headlines 09:13 Experts: Far right will up violence in future pullouts 09:29 Adalah center says it may seek 'regime in all historic Palestine' 01:14 Assad says Syria turned down nuclear weapons offer in 2001 05:15 Aides: Olmert, Livni were not told about E. J'lem housing plan 09:29 U.S. Jewish group slams gov't ruling on campus anti-Semitism 04:05 Gaza census bureau at center of Hamas-PA dispute over survey 06:03 Pre-State polio victims being denied NII compensation 00:59 Knesset okays tax incentives for 'green' construction 23:40 Saudi king invites Iranian President Ahmadinejad to Mecca for hajj 08:14 Striking university lecturers, treasury deadlocked over wage dispute Previous Editions Select Day 19 dec 18 dec 17 dec 16 dec 14 dec 13 dec 12 dec 11 dec 10 dec 09 dec 07 dec 06 dec

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