Holocaust denial to be retained in new Slovak criminal code

The Slovak Parliament has approved an amendment to the proposed new Criminal Code which inserts a provision making denying the Holocaust as a crime. Originally, the Justice Ministry had dropped a provision on Holocaust denial, included in the current law, citing freedom of speech. The omission had been strongly protested by Jewish organizations and the Israeli Chamber of Commerce. The new Criminal Code is a major revision of the existing law which has been in place since 1962.