ATHENS, Dec 13, 2007 (AFP) - A Greek court sentenced a neo-Nazi author of an anti-semitic book to a 14-month suspended sentence on Thursday, in the first case of its kind in Greece.
Constantine Plevris was found guilty of inciting hatred and racial violence over his book 'The Jews -- The Whole Truth.'
Plevris, who as a lawyer had to be tried at the Court of Appeal in Athens, immediately indicated he would appeal against the sentence.
The 1,400-page book, published in 2006, accused Jews of being sub-human, mortal enemies and worthy of the firing squad.
It also denied the Holocaust, apologised for the Nazis and threatened Jews.
'We thank the Greek justice system for its dignity and for demonstrating that we truly live in a democratic society,' president of the Central Jewish Council of Greece (KIS), Moisis Constantinis, said after the trial.
Panayote Dimitras, from the Greek minority rights organisation that initiated the case, called the judgement 'historic'.
Plevris was convicted under an anti-racism law dating from 1979.
The KIS had argued that the trial was a test of the Greek authorities' determination to stamp out anti-semitism and Holocaust-denial, in a country where anti-Jewish prejudice is still a strong force.
Throughout the trial, members of the Jewish community expressed indignation at comments from prosecutors in the case.
One asked witnesses if they knew that, 'as the accused claimed, the Talmud regards non-Jews as pigs' and 'if Jews currently endorse' this thesis.
She also invoked the book's 'scientific' character.
Plevris claimed that if he was convicted, it would merely show that the judges had been 'bought by the Jews.'
The Greek Jewish community today numbers around 6,000. Around 50,000 were massacred during the Nazi occupation.
