Whilst this guy has some disgusting and false ideas, the notion that he could be dragged from a a plane on the tarmac at Heathrow, under the jurisdiction of an EU arrest warrant issued on the behalf of the German government for opinions published on a web page when he was living in Australia had frightening implications for everyone. (I previously wrote about him here)
His crime was posting some Holocaust denial material on the web in 2000 and 2004, when he was residing in Australia. Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany but not Australia.
However it's not complete victory for free speech, the Judge only stopped the extradition:
because the warrant contained only "sparse" details about Dr Toben's alleged offences, including exactly what they were, as well as where and when they took place.which would suggest that had the German authorities actually given accurate web addresses to the postings, then the judge may have allowed the extradition.
Let me repeat myself: The idea that you can get extradited (read:punished) to a foreign country for breaking their domestic laws, when the 'crime' was committed in a completely different country has frightening implications, whether these arrest warrants are issued under the auspices of the ever so just and never corrupt EU parliament or UN.
It is totalitarian in nature and this idea that a country can extend the sovereignty of it's laws to another country goes against the very concept of a sovereign nation, however I suspect that is the idea.
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