While I abhor Holocaustdeniers, I can see no justification for jailing them.

In many EU countries people can be jailed for expressing the opinion that Hitler was "not guilty" of genocide. Denying the Holocaust is as ludicrous as claiming pigs can fly. It is also grossly offensive to the victims. But should we really be locking up people within the EU, which supposedly values the democratic right to free speech, for making absurd claims about history?

The Holocaust is one of the most horrific episodes of inhumanity since time began. But not the only one.

There are no jail terms at present in any EU country for denying . . . as many leftwing activists do . . . that Stalin murdered millions of "enemies of the state". You won't be arrested for denying Mao murdered countless innocent Chinese during his so-called "Cultural Revolution".

You would be corrected for falsifying history, but not locked up.

For the moment. The problem with making laws forbidding a particular historical point of view is that it sets a dangerous precedent.

The best way to counteract this kind of revisionist nonsense is to engage in reasoned debate exposing those like Irving for what they are. Even the conference on the Holocaust planned by Iran should, in my opinion, be attended by experts.

An advocate of free speech who could have refuted Irving was the late Martin Niemoeller, the cleric imprisoned by the Nazis for dissent. After his arrest, he regretted not coming to the aid of the minorities persecuted. In his cell, he wrote:

"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out , , because I was not a communist;

"Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out , , because I was not a socialist;

"Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out , , because I was not a trade unionist;

"Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out , , because I was not a Jew;

"Then they came for me , , and there was no one left to speak out for me."

I can't imagine Pastor Neimoeller wanting Irving locked up for being wrong. I suspect he would instead have beaten him in a debate on the issue in democracy's best traditions.

And, though I find Irving's views offensive, I have a huge sense of unease when I think of him in that prison cell.

John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co Kilkenny