Holocaust denier facing extradition to France has hearing moved to October

Frenchman Vincent Reynouard is wanted by French authorities after fleeing his homeland to avoid going to prison.

Vincent Reynouard appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court for further consideration of his upcoming extradition hearing (PA) (PA Wire)

The extradition hearing of a Holocaust denier wanted by authorities in France has been pushed back until later this year.

Vincent Reynouard’s lawyer told Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday he no longer wished to proceed with a legal debate he had been due to go through concerning the Frenchman’s case and moved to set a date for a full hearing.

Reynouard was arrested in Fife then remanded in custody last year after crossing the Channel to evade French authorities who had been pursuing him for two years.

The 54-year-old went on the run after he was convicted under anti-Nazi laws and handed a four-month jail sentence in November 2020, then a further six-month spell in January the following year.

Holocaust denial has been a criminal offence in France since 1990 and Reynouard has been convicted on multiple occasions.

Appearing before Sheriff Frank Crowe, Reynouard’s lawyer Paul Dunne said the contents of a note passed to the court by another lawyer acting on Reynouard’s behalf did not need to be debated any more and moved to have the note withdrawn.

He went on to call for a full hearing date to be fixed and this was set for October 19 with a further preliminary hearing also scheduled for September 21.

Mr Dunne also requested the court to clarify how long Reynouard was supposed to spend in prison to complete his sentence before the hearing, pointing out he has been in custody since he was first held by police in November last year.