Jailed Opinions -
Switzerland

Revisionism in Switzerland has been criminalised since 1994 under an "anti-racist" law which makes it an offence to "deny, grossly minimize or seek to justify genocide or other crimes against humanity."

The legal position was worsened in 1999 when the Swiss Federal (Supreme) Court ruled that distributors as well as authors and publishers could be prosecuted under this law.

So booksellers as well as historians are now subject to imprisonment in Switzerland for daring to challenge orthodox history.

Several Swiss revisionists have been convicted under the anti-racism law, even though their work contained no trace of racial hatred as we would understand it in British law. (Bear in mind that those convicted also had to pay substantial fines and court costs.)

Gaston Amaudruz, a retired teacher, sentenced to one year's imprisonment (reduced to three months on appeal) in April 2000 for writing two historical articles as well as distributing other revisionist material. One of the charges related to the following statement by Amaudruz in a 1995 article: For my part, I maintain my position: I don't believe in the gas chambers. Let the exterminationists provide the proof and I will believe it. But as I've been waiting for this proof for decades, I don't believe I will see it soon. During his trial testimony, Amaudruz continued bravely to defy his persecutors: If the Six Million figure were correct, and the gas chambers existed, it would not be necessary to suppress dissident opinions with a muzzle law. In such a situation one should be able to present proofs. The existence of Section 261 [Anti-Racism Law] is the best argument against the standard version of the fate of the Jews in the Second World War. Given how the media incessantly serves up this version, doubts are practically obligatory.

Jürgen Graf, a Latin and French teacher and translator, sentenced to fifteen months imprisonment in July 1998. Graf left Switzerland to avoid serving this sentence and now lives in exile. He is a member of the editorial advisory committee of the Institute for Historical Review. Jürgen Graf's story can be read here.

Gerhard Förster, a retired electrical engineer, sentenced to twelve months imprisonment in July 1998 for publishing several revisionist books, including those by Jürgen Graf. Already so ill that he had to attend court in a wheelchair, Gerhard Förster died in a nursing home three months after his sentencing.

René-Louis Berclaz, sentenced in March 2002 to eight months imprisonment for his role in the organisation Truth and Justice, which was declared illegal by the Swiss courts in 2001. Truth and Justice was the co-sponsor of the abortive Beirut conference. After refusing to abandon his pursuit of historical truth, Berclaz's jail term was eventually increased to thirteen months. He spent some time in exile in Romania and Serbia in 2003-2004, courageously continuing his revisionist work via the Internet, but surrendered to the Swiss authorities in November 2004. After a further increase in his sentence, René-Louis Berclaz began serving a seventeen month jail sentence at the start of 2005.

Philippe Brennenstuhl, sentenced to three months imprisonment in March 2002 for his role in the banned revisionist organisation Truth and Justice.

Aldo Ferraglia, an Italian bookseller based in Montreux, sentenced to four months imprisonment in December 1997 for selling books by the French revisionist and former communist Roger Garaudy. Ferraglia's sentence was reduced on appeal to twenty days.

Andres Studer, sentenced to four months imprisonment in March 1999 for his revisionist writings. Now living in exile.