Unnecessary Martyr-Making

British "historian" David Irving has been jailed by an Austrian court for 3 years under a 1947 statute that bans the "public denial, belittling or justification of National Socialist crimes". Unless his appeal is successful, it looks like he’ll serve at least a year of his term. Criminalising Holocaust-denying seems to me profoundly wrong. I’m in agreement with Jason Soon on this: unless they’re urging violence, offensive goofs like Irving (and his loopy Australian followers like Michele Renouf) should only be facing the trial of public opinion.