AUSTRIA: Vienna's main criminal courtroom, an architectural marvel of marble and stucco, is used only "for special occasions", a court intern said yesterday morning.
The conviction of David Irving for Holocaust denial was such a special occasion.
He shambled into a packed court shortly after 9am, his trademark hooded eyes watering and his face puffier than at the libel trial he launched six years ago that ruined his reputation.
After proud pre-trial talk of wearing a lucky Saville Row suit, he cut a less-than-dashing figure in an ill-fitting navy blazer and grey trousers, with overlong wavy hair tugged to one side.
In his pocket was a copy of PG Wodehouses's Eggs, Beans and Crumpets to read in breaks.
"I think Austria would be very stupid to put me in jail," he announced before taking his place on a bench surrounded by four armed court guards. He soon got a guffaw from the press gallery for describing himself in fluent German as an "author" and not a historian. Then he got another unintentional laugh for telling the judge: "I don't think I understood the question, but I think I can answer it."
Irving's body language veered between jitters and impatience, but by early afternoon, he had adopted a reflective, even bemused expression.
The judge, in his broad Austrian accent, was repeating at great length Irving's own words through the decades. Ugly words like Gaskammerlüge, the lie of gas chambers, and Holocaustmärchen, the fairytale of six million dead Jews. Irving said they were "rather raw expressions" he used during speeches, "so people don't fall asleep".
"I regret if I have insulted people or caused pain," he said in a contrite last statement. He now has three years to feel that pain.