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 currently on remand in custody at HMP Edinburgh ahead of an extradition hearing in February.
Reports in France suggest that authorities there are seeking Reynouard’s extradition for spreading revisionist propaganda.
The 53-year-old was arrested in Anstruther, Fife, on Thursday, 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, which began after the memorial of Oradour-sur-Glane, where Nazi troops killed and destroyed an entire village in June of 1944, was vandalised by graffiti which read 'Reynouard is right'.
READ MORE: Why a Holocaust denier ended up living quietly in an East Neuk village
Holocaust denial has been a criminal offence in France since 1990 and Reynouard’s convictions date back as far as 1991, when he was sentenced for distributing leaflets denying the existence of the gas chambers among high school students.
His latest conviction was in relation to a series of antisemitic 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, 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 a tabloid newspaper, which has led them to quiz 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 which 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, 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.
READ MORE: French Holocaust denier funded by supporters while being held in Scots jail
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, Reynouard also notes that his latest book, on Oradour-sur-Glane 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.
He writes: “Regarding the extradition, a preliminary hearing will take place on December 8, because I have had a new lawyer since November 17, Mr. Paul Dunne, a lawyer from Edinburgh. He is an extradition specialist. From what my former Scottish lawyer told me, a strong argument can be made against my extradition: the “ misdemeanor ” committed in France is not considered a misdemeanor here. Therefore, it is possible that the European arrest warrant does not apply here. Hence the need for a more specialized lawyer.”
News of Reynouard’s letter to French far-right weekly magazine Rivarol from his Edinburgh jail cell comes after The Herald revealed that his supporters have been banding together to send him funds while campaigning for his release from detention in Scotland on social media.
The Frenchman previously claimed that he was able to avoid having to surrender to the authorities in Scotland while on the run thanks to the steady stream of donations he had received from his supporters.
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