13/02/2015 15:09
Italian Senate approves bill criminalizing denial of genocides
Italian senators on Wednesday voted in favor of a bill criminalizing the denial of the Holocaust and other genocides, following changes to the proposed law to protect freedom of speech, The Local reported.
A total of 234 senators voted for the bill, while eight abstained and three voted against the new law.
Under the law people will face a three-year sentence for promoting, inciting or committing acts of racial discrimination based in part or entirely on the denial of the Holocaust. Crimes against humanity and war crimes are also covered in the bill, which now needs to pass through Italy’s lower house before it can become law.
Senator Giuseppe Lumia, part of the justice committee, said the vote marked a “turning point” in Italy.
“Denying the Holocaust and genocides will be