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Law
Laws regarding discrimination and national socialistic approval
In Austria the Wiederbetätigung law deals with national socialistic
publications. Wiederbetätigung litarary means 'operating again'.
The Wiederbetätigung law forbids:
- The NSDAP, its military organisations, its Gliederungen and connected
organisations. Founding them again is forbidden
- to act in favour of the NSDAP, or other national socialistic organisations,
or to act according to their goals in any way,
- to try to re-establish or re-found any national socialistic organisation
that is forbidden by law, or to contact such an organisation or a person
acting in its
name,
- the glorification and praise of the goals, measures and structures
of the NSDAP and equivalents publicly or to several persons, in print,
spreaded writing or images, (8.5.1945, prohibition of the NSDAP)
- to deny publicly the national socialistic killings or other violations
(1992, prohibition of the Auschwitz lie)
Furthermore:
- It is forbidden to wear, show, produce or spread symbols, uniforms
or parts of uniforms of organisations which are forbidden in Austria,
except for scientific or artistic use. (5.4.1960, Prohibition of certain
symbols)
The nature of the offence is partly based on the fact whether the information
is accessible for a ‘wide public’. For websites, this is likely,
and a judgement in Austria that stated the opposite raised a lot of
criticism and mockery. Even a single e-mail can be an offence, as far
as it meets the criteria for the content.
In the UK and the US the national socialistic betätigung itself
is not forbidden, the contrary, it is protected through the freedom
of speech. Therefore Neo-Nazis often use the services of American providers.
However, goading someone into penal offences, racist discrimination
or the call for genocide is illegal in the US. In 1996 the EU has accepted
a proposal to restrict racism and discrimination. This law obliges the
EU members to improve the cooperation in this area. The goal is that
they will introduce either equal punishments for certain behaviour patterns
or, in the case of legal aid and extradition, to abstain from the assertion
of the principle of mutual punishability.
The following offences are included in the EU commitment: - Publicly
goading someone to discrimination, violence or hate,
- The public defence of violation again human rights,
- To publicly defend the Auschwitz-lie,
- Publishing racist material,
- Participating in groups or organisations, which are based on discrimination,
violence, or ethnic or religious hatred.
Sources:
- The annual report 2000 form Stopline, the Austrian organisation to
report websites with illegal content. www.stopline.at/Jahresbericht.pdf
- 6183/AB XX.GP answer from the Austrian minister of Law, dr. Nikolaus
Michalek to the written questionaire (6478/J) regarding the publishing
of neonazistic and recist propaganda in the internet. www/parlinkom.gv.at/pd/pm/XX/AB/texte/061/AB566183_.html.
- Media release from 25/1/200 from Internet Freedom, the voice of free
speech. www.netfreedom.org/news.asp?item=105 <http://www.netfreedom.org/news.asp?item=105>.
Laws ragarding discrimination and national socialistic approval
In Austria the Wiederbetätigung law deals with national socialistic
publications. Wiederbetätigung litarary means 'operating again'.
The Wiederbetätigung law forbids:
- The NSDAP, its military organisations, its Gliederungen and connected
organisations. Founding them again is forbidden - to act in favour of
the NSDAP, or other national socialistic organisations, or to act according
to their goals in any way, - a to try to re-establish or re-found any
national socialistic organisation that is forbidden by law, or to contact
such an organisation or a person acting in its name,
- the glorification and praise of the goals, measures and structures
of the NSDAP and equivalents publicly or to several persons, in print,
spreaded
writing or images,n (8.5.1945, prohibition of the NSDAP)
- to deny publicly the national socialistic killings or other violations
(1992, prohibition of the Auschwitz lie)
Furthermore:
- It is forbidden to wear, show, produce or spread symbols, uniforms
or parts of uniforms of organisations which are forbidden in Austria,
except for scientific or artistic use. (5.4.1960, Prohibition of certain
symbols)
The nature of the offence is partly based on the fact whether the information
is accessible for a ‘wide public’. For websites, this is likely,
and a judgement in Austria that stated the opposite raised a lot of
criticism and mockery. Even a single e-mail can be an offence, as far
as it meets the criteria for the content.
In the UK and the US the national socialistic betätigung itself
is not forbidden, the contrary, it is protected through the freedom
of speech. Therefore Neo-Nazis often use the services of American providers.
However, goading someone into penal offences, racist discrimination
or the call for genocide is illegal in the US. In 1996 the EU has accepted
a proposal to restrict racism and discrimination. This law obliges the
EU members to improve the cooperation in this area. The goal is that
they will introduce either equal punishments for certain behaviour patterns
or, in the case of legal aid and extradition, to abstain from the assertion
of the principle of mutual punishability.
The following offences are included in the EU commitment: - Publicly
goading someone to discrimination, violence or hate, - The public defence
of violation again human rights,
- To publicly defend the Auschwitz-lie,
- Publishing racist material,
- Participating in groups or organisations, which are based on
discrimination, violence, or ethnic or religious hatred.
Sources:
- The annual report 2000 form Stopline, the Austrian organisation to
report websites with illegal content. www.stopline.at/Jahresbericht.pdf
- 6183/AB XX.GP answer from the Austrian minister of Law, dr. Nikolaus
Michalek to the written questionaire (6478/J) regarding the publishing
of
neonazistic and recist propaganda in the internet. www/parlinkom.gv.at/pd/pm/XX/AB/texte/061/AB566183_.html.
- Media release from 25/1/200 from Internet Freedom, the voice of free
speech. www.netfreedom.org/news.asp?item=105
<http://www.netfreedom.org/news.asp?item=105>.
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