No extradition for Holocaust man

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An arrest warrant for an Australian man wanted in Germany for alleged Holocaust denial has been discharged by a court in London.

Dr Gerald Toben was arrested at the start of October while in transit through Heathrow airport.

But at Westminster Magistrates Court, Judge Daphne Wickham said the warrant was not detailed enough.

Mr Toben has been granted bail, with strict conditions, pending an appeal by the Germans for his extradition.

The warrant was first issued in 2004 because the German authorities want him to stand trial for allegedly publishing anti-Semitic material on his website between 2000 and 2004.

But District Judge Wickham said the warrant contained inadequate detail about the alleged offences, as it stated neither the name of the website nor where the propaganda is said to have been published from.

Mr Toben, 64, has not yet been released from custody because he must pay a £100,000 security first.

Other conditions include residence at an approved address and written confirmation from the Australian High Commission of which passports he holds.

He is also not allowed to access the internet or to give any press interviews.

Judge Wickham rejected an argument from Melanie Cumberland, for the German authorities, that the required information could be acquired.

She added that she had not been required to decide at this stage whether the alleged crimes were valid extradition offences.

Mr Toben has been in custody since 1 October, when he was arrested at Heathrow Airport on a flight from the US, on his way to Dubai.

He was refused bail at that time.