Holocaust denier breaks silence and admits he faces years in jail
A HOLOCAUST denier being held on remand in Scotland has admitted he expects to spend at least “five years or more” in prison if France’s extradition request is successful.
Vincent Reynouard is on remand in custody at HMP Edinburgh ahead of an extradition hearing in February.
Reports in France suggest authorities there are seeking Mr Reynouard’s extradition for spreading revisionist propaganda.
The 53-year-old was arrested in Anstruther, Fife, on November 10, following a two-year search for his whereabouts led by France’s Central Office For The Fight Against Crimes Against Humanity And Hate Crimes. The hunt began after the memorial of Oradour-sur-glane, where Nazi troops killed and destroyed an entire village in June 1944, was vandalised by graffiti that read “Reynouard is right”.
Holocaust denial has been a criminal offence in France since 1990 and Mr Reynouard’s convictions date back as far as 1991, when he was sentenced for distributing leaflets among high school students denying the existence of the gas chambers.
His latest conviction was in relation to a series of anti-semitic posts on social media. He was given a four-month jail term in November 2020 and a further six months in January 2021.
In a letter from his prison cell addressed to French nationalist and far-right weekly magazine Rivarol, seen by The Herald, denying the existence of the gas chambers Mr Reynouard thanked his followers for their support and said he is in “good spirits”.
He writes that his fellow prisoners know who he is thanks to his appearance in the media, which has led them to question him on “what revisionism is”, which he says he has explained to them “succinctly”.
He asks his supporters if they can send him books and stationary such as pencils and erasers, as he attempts to write his “memoirs” while imprisoned; memoirs that he proposes be published “in excerpts” by the far-right magazine.
“These memoirs are part of my revisionist mission, a mission which consists in giving answers to others. Hence my desire to hide nothing, including the events that argue against me. Indeed, a true story is much richer in lessons than a pro domo plea or – worse – than a novel built for its own advantage” he notes.
His decision to write his memoirs, Mr Reynouard says, is down to his belief that his “many revisionist videos” will see him spend the next few years in prison in his native France, should he be extradited.
He writes: “Why this decision? Because after my arrest, four days ago, by the Scottish authorities, I have no illusions: the French authorities who, on June 25, 2021, issued a European arrest warrant against me, will obtain my extradition. Back in France, I will serve several prison sentences for ‘disputing crimes against humanity’.
“In total, these sentences exceed 24 months (29 months to be exact). There will undoubtedly be other convictions for the same reason, because since my exile in Great Britain, in June 2015, I have published many revisionist videos likely to fall under the Gayssot law. Several are not time-barred, either having been published less than a year ago or already being sued. Therefore, I expect to stay in prison for five years or more.”
In the letter, Mr Reynouard also notes that his latest book, on Oradour-surglane massacre, “should appear in the next few days”, and believes that the news of his imprisonment and possible extradition “constitute first-rate promotional material” for it.
Meanwhile, in respect of his extradition, the Frenchman says his “former Scottish lawyer” told him that “a strong argument can be made” against it being successful.
I expect to stay in prison for five years or more