British bishop fined for Holocaust denial

A German court fined renegade British Catholic bishop Richard Williamson for Holocaust denial yesterday in a case that has deeply embarrassed the Vatican.

The judge at the district court in this southern German city convicted Bishop Williamson, 70, of inciting racial hatred but reduced a previous fine of €12,000 to €10,000.

Bishop Williamson had stated in a television interview aired in January 2009 that only "200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps" and disputed the existence of the gas chambers.

"The statements by the accused represent a denial of the actions taken under the National Socialist regime," said presiding judge Karin Frahm.

"Bishop Williamson must have assumed that his remarks would draw attention. Bishop Williamson knowingly accepted that attention."

The high-profile proceedings opened yesterday without Bishop Williamson after his breakaway ultra-conservative Catholic fraternity ordered him not to testify. But he acknowledged the offending comments in a statement read in court.